5 facts about Moscow's Paveletsky train station (PHOTOS)

1. Gateway to the southern regions

The late 19th century in Russia was a time of rapid railway development. One of the longest at the time was the Ryazan-Ural Railway, which connected 12 populated provinces, but had no direct link to Moscow.

In the late 1890s, the railway administration received permission to build a railway from the settlement of Pavelets in Ryazan Province to Moscow, as well as to construct its own station.

The Neoclassical building turned out to be convenient and spacious, with large windows, a wide entrance, waiting rooms and ticket offices. Inside, there was a telegraph office, a pharmacy and a buffet. Furthermore, the station had special ceremonial rooms for the tsar.

A market grew around the new station, taverns and shops appeared and a tram line was built.

2. Changed its name three times

The station got its name – ‘Paveletsky’ – from the settlement of Pavelets, the line's terminal stop. A few years later, it began to be referred to as ‘Saratovsky’ in documents, as the Ryazan-Ural Railway administration was located in Saratov.

After the arrival of the funeral train, the station was unofficially called ‘Leninsky’ (Lenin's), but it was not officially renamed. Moreover, newspapers sometimes continued to call it ‘Paveletsky’. It regained its original name in 1941.

3. Received Lenin's body & has a museum

On January 23, 1924, a special train from Gorki delivered the body of deceased Vladimir Lenin to the Paveletsky Station. To commemorate this event, a memorial pavilion, titled ‘V. I. Lenin's Funeral Train’, was built near the station in 1948.

It housed the U127 steam locomotive and the carriage from that train. The square in front of the station was named ‘Leninskaya’ (it has been called ‘Paveletskaya’ since 1992).

Over time, the pavilion was updated and’ today’ it houses the Museum of the Moscow Railway.

4. Connects central Moscow with an international airport

Paveletsky Station serves thousands of passengers per day: trains depart from there to Saratov, Astrakhan, Makhachkala, Volgograd and many other cities, while suburban commuter trains run from there, facilitating Moscow’s regions. Additionally, there is a terminal for the ‘Aeroexpress’ high-speed train, which provides a direct, non-stop connection to Domodedovo International Airport.

5. Became a public space

Throughout its existence, Paveletsky Station has been renovated several times. For instance, in the 1980s, the building was expanded to incorporate the vestibule of the ‘Paveletskaya’ subway station, which had opened back in 1943. The old building was, however, not demolished; instead, it became part of the new complex.

And, in 2021, the square in front of the station was radically updated, turning it into a modern public space. It now features a landscaped park with a fountain, swings, benches and an underground shopping center.