Every time a population surpassed one million in a Soviet city, Soviet law allowed for construction a Metro system. The Baku Metro, which debuted in 1967, was the fifth Soviet Metro system and boasts a similar blending of utility, opulence, and ideological propaganda that characterize systems in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Paintings, statutes, sculptures, murals, and chandeliers decorate the deep underground caverns and the endearing timers between trains are displayed at each station above the tracks noting the time elapsed between trains.
Baku has two Metro lines (red and green in the map below), with most service concentrated on the red line. Service runs from 5am to midnight seven days a week, costs about 20 cents for a single ride, and runs frequently. A planned airport extension is in the works, but I suspect it will be many years before completion.
Soviet Metro Systems are a tourist attraction in themselves because of their artwork and design so even if you are not a public transportation type, make it a point to visit the many older Metro stops in Baku pictured below. Each station is work of art in its own right.
Read the rest of my trip report to the Caucasus!
Thrown Off a United Airlines Flight for Taking Pictures!
Washington Dulles to Kuwait City in United Airlines BusinessFirst
Six Hours in Kuwait City
Pearl Lounge – Kuwait International Airport
Kuwait City to Istanbul in Turkish Airlines Economy Class
Istanbul to Baku in Azerbaijan Airlines Economy Class
Baku – A City of Illusions?
Review: Park Hyatt Baku
Baku Metro (Pictures)
Overnight Train from Baku to Tbilisi, Georgia
Pictures: One Day in Tbilisi, Georgia
Overnight Train from Tbilisi to Yerevan, Armenia
Feeling at Home in Yerevan
Yerevan to Istanbul in Armavia Economy Class
The Flight Home from Istanbul…
Cool post, but I don’t think there’s any truth to your statement about the Soviets building metros when a city got over 10 million people. Particularly since Baku has about 2 million
@ James–just a typo, I should have just said 1mn not 10mn. Thanks for catching it.
That makes way more sense. Thanks