Kiev metro line closed after road above collapses, flooding - criminal negligence investigation launched

Leo Chiu
Kyiv Post
Mon, 11 Dec 2023 18:10 UTC

A man walks near a market where the soil collapses into a metro tunnel in Kyiv. The metro line was closed for repairs due to collapsed soil and a cracked tunnel. Date created
18/12/2023 17:23:46

Excessive flooding has led to the closure of one-third of Kyiv's blue line with repair expected to last up to six months, but Ukrainians are doubtful of the optimistic estimate.

Comment: As stated further below, this is more than just an Earth Changes issue, this seems to be more the result of overwhelming corruption and incompetence.

A large section of the metro in Kyiv is being shut down for emergency repair work caused by tunnel leakage and excessive flooding, which would take up to six months and well into the summer of next year.

The repair would affect one-third of the blue line, one of the three metro lines in Kyiv, between the Teremky and Demiyivska stations south of the city center.

Comment: It's telling how few mainstream news outlets have reported on this incident, and even those that have fail to provide footage of the extent of the damage:

[...] Our infrastructure is completely destroyed," he said. Popenko advised residents of the Ukrainian capital not to believe the authorities' statements about the restoration of the metro in six months. According to him, the repair of the metro will certainly be delayed due to a lack of funds and management problems.

According to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, the city administration is establishing the cause behind the incident.

"Specialists are investigating the causes of the emergency situation that arose in the tunnel on the section of the blue subway line between the Teremky and Demiyivska stations. Train traffic there was closed. And now they run between the Heroiv Dnipra and Lybidska stations," said Klitschko in a Telegram update.

Videos of flooding caused by tunnel leakage surfaced on the internet last week, with the metro being closed one day before the planned closure on Dec. 9, leading many to suspect the situation to be worse than previously announced.

Despite the closure, the stations will function as air raid shelters as usual.

Comment: Luckily for Kiev, Russia isn't in the business of targeting civilians. However it's perhaps a sign of how much the authorities care for its people that they consider these locations, that can't stand up to every day usage, to be air raid shelters.

Kyiv City State Administration is organizing replacement bus and trolley bus services to serve those affected by the repair work, gradually increasing to 77 buses and 20 trolleybuses as the city transitions to the new, temporary system, and Klitschko believed it would be sufficient considering the capacity.

"This amount of ground transport will be able to carry 14,000-15,000 people per hour. For example, the subway in this section transported about 12,000 people per hour," Klitschko said.

On morning of the day of voting for the capital's budget, a rally was held near the Kyiv City State Administration.

However, Kyiv is known to suffer from traffic jams during adverse weather conditions aboveground, and some have suspected the replacements could worsen the situation.

The metro closure has also led to a range of mocking comments from locals, sparking a range of memes and comments that questioned the expected six-month repair duration.

In one such video on Instagram, a user commented: "With Klitschko, 6 months can become 6 years," with another user sharing similar sentiments: "6 months is the best estimation. Worst case scenario, several years."

Comment: TopCor.ru reports:

On the basis of official negligence, in connection with the occurrence of an emergency, criminal proceedings have been initiated, and within its framework, investigators intend to carefully study the documents on the construction and operation of the distillation tunnels - they are interested in design, construction, executive and other documentation, as well as geodesy with laboratory research water and soil. Deputy of the Kyiv City Council Dmitry Belotserkovets immediately stated:

Let me remind you: the metro stations, which were just closed for renovation, were opened ten years ago by "strong businessmen" Yanukovych and Azarov.

The Yanukovych gang came to power in 2010, and they needed to show quick results - urgently open metro stations. And it didn't matter that they didn't have time to do the waterproofing.

The "gang", in fact, at least built and created something in Kyiv. During the time following the Maidan coup, not a single metro station was built in Kyiv.

The New Voice of Ukraine:

The tunnels between Demiyivska and Lybidska stations face instability risks due to soil compaction issues and vibrations affecting the tunnel lining. They were constructed underground in challenging conditions within the floodplain of the Lybid River between 2008-2010, which required artificial lowering of water levels.

The prosecutor's office disclosed that the metro police department initiated a pre-trial investigation into the flooding of tunnels on the Obolonsko-Teremkivska line of the Kyiv Metro on suspicion of official negligence causing serious consequences (part 2 of Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

"According to preliminary findings, the tunnel's depressurization and the emergence of cracks in its walls led to the flooding on the specified section of the metro," the prosecutor's office said.

During the pre-trial investigation, officials from the Kyiv Metro Public Enterprise and subcontracting organizations involved in constructing connecting tunnels between the Demiivska and Lybidska stations in the Lybid River floodplain will face legal scrutiny.

The Kyiv City State Administration announced the closure of train traffic on the blue metro line between Demiivska and Teremky stations from Dec. 9 for the repair of the connecting tunnel.

However, Kyiv Metro head Victor Brahinskyi suspended traffic at 1:45 p.m. a day earlier after new cracks threatening passenger safety were observed on the tunnel ceiling at Demiivska station following the morning rush hour.

Brahinskyi listed three possible causes of the cracks, including poor work by the general contractor, insufficient waterproofing and chemical reinforcement, the activity of the Lybid River, and geological conditions like quicksand and peat bogs as potential causes of the cracks.

Traffic restrictions are expected to last approximately six months, with alternative ground transportation duplicating the metro route in the capital.