Overview
Novosibirsk, Russia's third-largest city, is served by a compact rapid transit system, the Novosibirsk Metro (Новосибирский метрополитен), which acts as the backbone of urban public transport in Siberia. The system opened on 7 January 1986, becoming the eleventh metro in the USSR and the ninth in the Russian SFSR, and today it carries about 235,300 passengers daily — roughly 86.1 million trips in 2024 and 81.6 million in 2025, making it the third-busiest system in the country.
Riding it end to end is straightforward. You enter a station, buy or tap a ticket, descend to the island platform, board a train in your direction of travel, and change lines at the transfer point if needed. Trains run daily from around 6:00 to 24:00, though first and last train times vary by station, so check your specific station before a late journey. The stations themselves are vividly decorated in late-Soviet style, with colonnades, chandeliers and murals, so even a short ride doubles as a bit of sightseeing.
The network
The metro is small but well used: two lines, about 15.9 km of track and 14 stations (some sources count 13, depending on how the transfer complex is tallied). It connects the main commercial, cultural and residential areas, and links the main railway station with the river terminal.
- Leninskaya Line (Ленинская линия, Leninskaya liniya) — one of the two metro lines, running through the central part of the city.
- Dzerzhinskaya Line (Дзержинская линия, Dzerzhinskaya liniya) — the second metro line.
- Transfer — Krasny Prospekt and Sibirskaya are the interchange stations, connected to each other by dual pedestrian tunnels.
- Notable stations — Ploshchad Lenina is known for its colonnades and chandeliers; Rechnoy Vokzal has murals and decorations on local natural scenery and is the system's only station with side platforms, sitting partly above and partly below ground along a 2,145 m covered bridge span of the Ob, the longest such span in the world.
Beyond the metro, public transport includes buses, trams, trolleybuses and marshrutkas (shared minibuses). The city's mainline railway station, Novosibirsk-Glavny (Новосибирск-Главный), is served by all Trans-Siberian trains and regional services, and sits near the Garina Mikhailovskogo metro station. The reference material does not name individual tram, bus, trolleybus or ferry lines, so treat those as an extensive but unnamed network to explore locally.
Tickets & fares
Fares are low by international standards, but published figures conflict, so treat any number as approximate and subject to change. One source gives a single metro trip at 25 rubles, while another box on the same page lists 35 rubles; a Wikivoyage guide states that a ride on intra-city public transport costs 35 rubles or less. Verify the current fare at the station before you travel.
- Disposable paper tickets — the simplest option for a single journey.
- Unified transport card (Единая транспортная карта, Yedinaya transportnaya karta) — a rechargeable smartcard offering discounts.
- Passes — monthly and quarterly passes are available for regular travellers.
- Tokens and electronic cards — also mentioned as payment options.
Buy tickets and top up cards at station ticket offices and kiosks; the sources do not describe a tourist-specific pass, so plan on standard single tickets or a stored-value card. There is no zone system described for the metro — a single fare covers a trip on the network.
From the airport
Tolmachevo Airport (OVB, also known as Novosibirsk International Airport) lies about 16 km from the city centre and handles over 4 million passengers a year. Public-transport options into town:
- Bus #111 (about 35 rubles) — runs between the airport and the main railway station, Novosibirsk-Glavny (Новосибирск-Главный), and the Avtovokzal (Автовокзал) bus terminal; the journey takes about 30 minutes.
- Minibus #312 — connects the airport with the main railway station.
- Bus #112 (about 30 rubles) — runs between the airport and the Mega shopping centre (IKEA).
- Taxi — around 30 minutes and should cost about 500 rubles if you negotiate the price in advance.
One caution: the trolleybus line on the main street has a terminus called "Airport", but that refers to the disused city airport, not Tolmachevo (OVB) — don't confuse the two.
Etiquette & customs
The sources do not document specific local riding customs in detail, so the following reflects general practice on Russian urban transit rather than sourced specifics:
- Queuing — wait in line at ticket windows and board in an orderly fashion; let passengers off before you get on.
- Escalators — stand on the right and keep the left side clear for people walking up or down.
- Priority seating — seats near the doors are reserved for the elderly, disabled passengers and those with small children; give them up willingly.
- Quiet — keep phone calls and conversations low; the metro is a commuter space, not a social one.
- Eating and drinking — avoid eating on trains and in stations; drinking is generally frowned upon.
- Rush hour — trains are packed at peak times; move down the platform and into the carriage rather than blocking the doors.
Official links
Survival terms
- Метро (metró) — metro / subway
- Билет (bilét) — ticket
- Линия (líniya) — line
- Вход (vkhod) — entrance
- Выход (výkhod) — exit
- Пересадка (peresádka) — transfer
- Проезд (proyézd) — single fare / ride
- Проездной (proyezdnóy) — travel pass (e.g. day or monthly pass)
Check the current fare and first/last train times at your station before you set out, since published figures vary and timetables differ by stop.