Deepest Metro Station in the World – Arsenalna Station

Introduction

The deepest metro station in the world is Arsenalna station on the Sviatoshynsko – Brovarska line located in Kyiv – the capital city of Ukraine. This subway station was opened on the 6^th November 1960 as part of the first stage of the Kyiv Metro built and designed by the Soviet Union. Arsenalna metro station is 105.5 metres / 346 feet deep. This makes the station 5.5 metres deeper than any metro station found on the Pyongyang Metro in North Korea which is the deepest metro network in the world.

What makes Arsenalna the deepest metro station in the world is the geographic location of the station as the entrance sits on top of the high banks of the Dnieper River that cuts through the city of Kyiv. The station was also designed with a unique layout as the platforms are separated and not apart of a central concourse like the other stations on the metro network.

It takes a total 4 minutes and 11 seconds to reach the platform from the entrance and requires riding two separate escalators.

Riding all the way down to the platform of Arsenala Metro Station – 105.5 metres deep!

History of the deepest metro station in the world

The name Arsenalna comes from the Arsenal Special Device Production State Enterprise, which is the Arsenal Factory and considered one of the oldest and most famous factories in Kyiv.

The station’s appearance is mostly monochromatic with plastered vault ceilings, marbled pylons, ceramic tiled walls all of which are white in colour. Prior to 1990 a large sculptural artwork depicting the revolutionary events that happened in the Arsenal factory in 1918 was presented on the wall of the front hall until it was removed in the early 1990s shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union. However, the Soviet stars that were meant to be removed according to the Decommunization laws formed in 2015 still remain within the station.

Arsenalna station went under renovation in 2020 and reopened in September 2021.

Location

The one and only entrance, and exit to the station is located on the square leading to Mykhailo Hrushevsky street, Dmytro Godzenko street, and Ivana Mazepy street. It is only one subway stop away from Independent Square, formally known as Lenin Square.