Sportivnaya (lower hall)

The lower hall of the Sportivnaya metro station looks like an ordinary column-wall station (photo on the left). Meanwhile, this is a unique, the world's only single-deck two-tier deep-laid metro station (diagram on the right). Roughly speaking, a real two-story transfer railway station was built inside the only vault. At the same time, the western end of the station is located under the Malaya Neva River.

Such a two-storey structure requires special measures to dampen vibrations from trains. Therefore, this is the only metro station in St. Petersburg where there are no rescue trays between the rails for passengers who have fallen on the way. The entire space under the rail grate is filled with gravel ballast. And, as can be clearly seen in the photo on the right, one of the paths is still missing. In the future, there will be a Ring metro line.

On the lower tier of the Sportivnaya station, as well as at the Technological Institute-2 station, trains arrive on the "wrong" side. From here, trains go to the city center and further south.

Each tier of the station has its own exit. The lower hall, which we are talking about now, has an exit through the travelator Sportivnaya (travolator) to Vasilievsky Island. If you go up the small escalators to the upper hall, from there there is an exit to the underground passage to Petrogradsky Island.

Initially, the lower hall of the station had no access to the surface - the travelator was built almost 18 years later. And the southern end of the lower hall looked like this.

Accordingly, the distant small escalator was mostly in a closed off state.

But then a miracle happened, and a 300-meter-long travelator appeared under the Malaya Neva to the second exit. About him - a separate story Sportivnaya (travolator) :)

Interestingly, there is no hermetic door at the entrance from the travelator to the station (photo on the right).

The lower hall is divided into parts, between which it is possible to pass only either through small escalators through the upper hall, or by bypassing the side platforms. Therefore, many people, having descended from the upper hall by the first small escalator, cannot find a travelator, but see only such a sports mosaic in front of them.

To get from here to the travelator, you need to go around this mosaic on any of the side platforms.

Here, too, the groundwork for the future ring line is clearly visible.

In the ceiling of the lower hall there are through windows to the upper level, and through these windows tall lamps pass through to the upper hall.

In the part where there are no through holes in the ceiling, closed false circles are made.

The foot of the lamps are surrounded by cute round benches.

The entire lower hall of the station, it turns out, is segmented into three parts by central buildings, which can only be bypassed by side platforms. In two of them there are escalators, in another apparently office premises.

And if in the upper hall of the station the doors in the track walls are clearly highlighted, then on the lower level they are made in the same color as the rest of the wall. Behind these doors, let me remind you, there are cable routes.

In several places, these gloomy travel walls are also decorated with mosaics.

Right near the entrance to the station from the travelator there is a fenced staircase to the lower service tier of the station.

Compared to the airy and spacious upper hall, the lower hall, of course, feels much more cramped, but also more interesting.

Shall we see the upper hall now?