Petersburg's new metro station opens, falters after minutes
In Petersburg, the first underground station in five years has opened. The inauguration, intended to be a symbol of development, ended with a malfunction after just six minutes.
On Friday, 27 December, in Petersburg, the opening of a new underground station, Gorny Institute, took place, which was supposed to be a symbol of the development of Russian infrastructure.
Five years after the last investment, the station became part of the fourth, "orange" metro line. However, instead of triumph, the inauguration ended in a technical failure.
Just six minutes after the station was launched, the escalators broke down. First, the escalators going down stopped, and two minutes later, those going up also ceased to function.
Passengers had to use the stairs on foot, while apologies echoed from the speakers: "The escalators are new, anything can happen." Additionally, passengers reported problems with the lifts, which were also not functioning properly.
The construction of the Gorny Institute station began with great ambitions but faced multiple delays. Initially, it was planned to be completed in 2015, then in 2018, and later in 2022. This process was disrupted by numerous difficulties, including the collapse of scaffolding in 2020, which caused the death of one worker and serious injuries to another. This station is the first new investment in the Petersburg underground since 2019, when three other stations were opened: Prospekt Slavy, Dunayskaya, and Shushary.
The opening of the station was meant to be a symbol of the success of the Petersburg authorities and the development of transport infrastructure in Russia. However, it ended in failure, which became a source of jokes among internet users. Under the video from the station posted by NEXTa on the X platform, there were mocking comments such as: "Russian technology at its finest" or "Symbol of Putin's power…".
