I purchased a 5-day pass for Saint Petersburg, but really most of what I was going to see was near enough to walk. For simplicity, it is better to have the card, otherwise you will have to buy a ticket every time you go in.

The subway stations were originally designed to be emergency shelters, especially against bomb attacks, especially nukes.

The escalators have lamps on poles, every 8-10 feet. Each has a numbered decal, starting at 1 at the bottom. I presume that the numbers are there to have set places to measure radioactivity, to determine rising or falling levels.

I did notice that the handrails move just slightly faster. Over 150+ feet, this would be a lot and could throw you off balance.

At the bottom of each, an old woman watches monitors, to make sure no one is breaking the rules. I saw several that were on the verge of passing out, it has to be a super dull routine. Also, there is graffiti in some, so they are not really doing their jobs.

The signs are generally clear, and all include Latin transliterations.

Some platforms have modern clear doors, to prevent falling into the tracks. Others have solid metal doors (bomb resistance?). Most are just open, not falling is totally your responsibility.

If you discover you’re going the wrong way or passed your stop, just get off, walk across the platform, and get on the train going the other direction.

The trains themselves are comfortable, for public transport. But I could see a regular user getting hearing damage from the noise of the wheels on the tracks.

Trains come about every 2 minutes apart.

One train had a display showing the next station upcoming, and the temperature, time, and speed. We got up to 78km/h (48mph). They seem to spend about 75% of the time accelerating, then decelerating only as they enter the next station. They might not make it into Formula 1, but they do have some G forces.

Saint Petersburg only has 5 lines, so far, so knowing how to get from here to there is easy.

Moscow has 15, right now, including 3 rings and a monorail. Plus there are regular rail stations attached to the metro stations, so you could go almost anywhere in Russia or nearby countries without needing a car or plane.

My room is on Line #3, but I noticed one day, I was at the #6/#7 station, but neither of them connected to #3. That means I had to do at least two transfers. That’s a pain.

The stations are reasonably clean, despite not seeing any trash cans. Graffiti was very minor, markers on escalators, mostly.

All the stations have temp barricades everywhere to funnel you in one direction. But some are in the way of access, like one had the first 3 openings to the track closed off. You might miss your train because you had to go further.

Some stations have many entrances/exits, allowing you to tunnel under many roads and avoid rain or snow.

It seems that every block has a bus stop. I like this as most have area maps with a “5 minute walk” circle around your location. They have some highlights to see, statues, restaurants, shops, etc.

I see now I should not have used the AeroExpress train. It would have been faster and cheaper to take bus from airport to metro station. So much for “express.”