Important information! From June 1, parking in the Ladozhsky Railway Station car park will be free of charge for ten minutes. Stays of longer than ten minutes are charged in accordance with the tariff scale from the moment the vehicle entered the car park.

ABOUT THE STATION

Ladozhsky is St. Petersburg’s newest railway station. The completion of construction was timed to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the founding of the city on the Neva. Construction lasted two years, from 2001 to 2003. The building, with its spectacular architecture consisting of two circular towers connected by aperture and crowned with a complex, seemingly weightless structure made out of glass and metal, managed to combine three elements of the station under a single roof: a freight station; a long-distance passenger hub; and a commuter train passenger hub.

HISTORY OF THE STATION’S CONSTRUCTION

The site of the development has played an important role in connecting St. Petersburg with the rest of the country since the first railway tracks were laid there at the beginning of the 20th century. Back then, the bank of the Okkervil River, which flows near the Ladozhskaya and Prospekt Bolshevikov metro stations, was home to the village of Yablonovka, which, together with the surrounding lands, belonged to the Dolgoruky princely family. Hence the name "Dolgorukov Dacha" that was given to the freight station, the predecessor to the Ladozhsky Railway Station. That building has survived to this day – an old, dark red squat house with a snow-white trim.

The idea to build a sixth passenger station on the site of the Dolgorukov Dacha was first brought up in the 1960s, but it would be another 20 years before the issue was given any serious consideration, as the city’s existing transport hubs could no longer cope with the passenger flow that had increased severalfold in the intervening time. Unfortunately, construction was severely hamstrung at the time by the financial crisis and the political changes that were taking place in the country.

Consequently, the project for the new St. Petersburg railway station only appeared at the turn of the millennium. The building was designed by Nikita Yavein, who came from a long line of architects. Construction was carried out at the same time the project was being developed, which is why the complex was erected in just 23 months. The grand opening of Ladozhsky railway station took place on May 25, 2003, and was attended by Governor of St. Petersburg Vladimir Yakovlev. President Vladimir Putin inspected the complex on June 15.

Architectural features

Impressively, Yavein managed to combine three stations into a single, and quite small, station complex: a freight station, a commuter train station, and a long-distance train station. The station is divided into three levels: an upper level, a ground-floor level, and an underground level.

The underground level, located at a depth of 15 metres, is given over to the commuter train station, with its own ticket offices, rest areas and infrastructure facilities. It can be accessed either from the main Svetovoy Hall of the Ladozhsky Railway Station or directly from the Ladozhskaya metro station.

The ground-floor level is for long-distance, freight, and commuter trains. There are tram tracks and a tram stop nearby, and trolley bus and regular bus stops a little further away on the square and Zanevsky Prospekt.

The upper level is for long-distance train passengers and people meeting them. It can be accessed from the upper part of the Ladozhskaya metro station via escalators and covered and open stairs from the street.

The entire upper level is taken up by the Svetovoy Hall – a huge room with a transparent roof and walls. There are shops, cafes, cash desks, a post office, storage lockers, bank branches, and other infrastructure facilities here.

Ladozhsky railway station is equipped with modern security systems, "chock full" of advanced electronics, and is rightly considered the "smartest" in Europe. From the outside, the station building resembles a futuristic glass palace, built in the form of a bridge or tunnel between two circular towers. Inside, light permeates the building from all sides, and is adorned with lifts, stairs, and light tunnels, contribute to making it one of the most beautiful modern railways.

Stepping out of Svetovoy Hall, you will find yourself in a large square with an open-air car park. The bridge takes you down to the city centre. There is a magnificent view of the surrounding area and the gigantic network of railway tracks and trains rushing in both directions: Ladozhsky is the only transit station in St. Petersburg.

TRAFFIC LOAD

There are 14 railway tracks on the station grounds, 8 of which are intended for passenger and commuter trains, with the remaining 6 given over for freight trains.

Ladozhsky railway station can handle 26 pairs of long-distance and 50 pairs of commuter trains simultaneously. Trains arrive here from Moscow, Helsinki, Babayevo, Kostomushka, Murmansk, Petrozavodsk, Astana, Vologda, Pestovo, Chelyabinsk, Vortkuta, Yekaterinburg, and Arkhangelsk.

INTERESTING FACTS

The first electric locomotive to arrive at Ladozhsky railway station crashed into a fence and scraped its side against the platform. The crash was put down to an incorrect calculation and the fact that the platform was located too close to the tracks. It is the only unpleasant incident in the station’s history.

Nikita Yavein, whose father designed a railway station in Leningrad himself, dreamt of creating the Ladozhsky railway station when he was still at school. He even submitted the project as his diploma work at university.