Nizhny Novgorod Metro

Although the pace of metro construction in the Soviet Union was impressive, the consequences of the dissolution of the Soviet Union complicated the metro's future. When the first stage was completed in 1989, construction began on the second stage. Throughout Russia, segments which opened in the early 1990s were mainly completed; bankrupt companies and workers struggled to finish them. On December 20, 1993, two stations opened on the new Line 2: Kanavinskaya and Burnakovskaya.[5]

On September 9, 2002, the 13th station (Burevestnik, on Line 2) was opened.[5] On September 22, 2012, the metro was closed for the first time to switch power to the new control system of the Line 1 Gorkovskaya station, which was under construction; the station opened on November 4 of that year. The Line 2 Strelka station was opened on June 12, 2018.[6] On March 1, 2022, construction began on two stations in the Upper City on Line 1: Ploschad Svobody and Sennaya.[7]

Unlike other Soviet-era metros, Nizhny Novgorod does not have the usual triangular layout (three lines and six spokes intersecting in the city centre) because of the city's unusual layout. Nizhny Novgorod is on the Volga River, at its confluence with the Oka River. During the 20th century, the city developed polycentrically. The historic city centre (including the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin), including most of its administrative, cultural, and educational facilities, is on the high, hilly bank of the Oka. The low, flat, opposite bank contains most of the city's industries and some large residential districts grouped around Kanavinsky City district or Kanavino. Kanavinsky City district also has the city's central railway station and the largest urban transport hubs; Sormovsky City district largest industries are the Krasnoye Sormovo plant.

Avtozavodskaya station

Gorkovskaya Station

Faced with such a geographical arrangement, the metro planners adopted a design which would have two lines with four spokes, opened in a series of stages (and each stage in segments). The system's hub, the Moskovskaya station (next to Nizhny Novgorod's main railway station), would have a four-track, two-island platform for cross-platform transfer.

The first stage would be the Line 1, following the west bank of the Oka through the residential and industrial zones of the Kanavinsky and Leninsky City districts, the Gorky Automobile plant and into the Avtozavodsky City district. The second stage, the Line 2, would run west from Moskovskaya station into the Sormovsky City district or Sormovo. The third stage would incorporate a combined auto-metro bridge across the Oka, bringing the Avtozavodskaya Line into the city centre. The fourth and final stage would be the Line 2 to the Meshcherskoye Ozero residential area north-west of the railway station, on the Volga. The 25-kilometre (16 mi) system, with over 20 stations, was planned for completion by the late 1990s.

The order in which the stages were opened was influenced by industry-specific Soviet-era passenger flow and the depot-placement issue; cross-river traffic was less heavy. GAZ is the Avtozavodsky City district's chief employer, and many workers lived in the northern parts of the city. The only suitable location for the rail depot was near the automobile plant.

Line 1, Avtozavodskaya, runs between Park Kultury and Gorkovskaya and was opened in 1985. It has one interchange station (Moskovskaya, on line 2), and connects the lower and upper cities by bridge.

It was designed in 1980. During the Soviet era, the line was called Avtozavodsko-Meshcherskaya and was intended to last until the residential micro-district near Meshchersky Lake was built.

Line 2, also known as Sormovsko-Meshcherskaya or Sormovskaya, runs between the Burevestnik and Moskovskaya stations and was opened in 1993. In January 1981, the line was known as Sormovsko-Nagornaya and was planned to connect the industrial lower city and the historic upper city. Construction of the line was halted several times due to crises in Russia. For the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the Strelka station was built near Nizhny Novgorod Stadium. After the World Cup, it is planned to extend the line to the Volga station in Meshchera and the Varya station in Sormovo. The Yarmarka ghost station is also planned to be completed.