The pylon station is a type of deep underground subway station. The basic distinguishing characteristic of the pylon station is the manner of division of the central hall from the station tunnels

The pylon station consists of three separate halls, separated from each other by a row of pylons with passages between them. The independence of the halls allows the architectural form of the central and side halls to be differentiated. This was especially characteristic for stations built in the 1960s, when as a result of the policy of "total economy," the side halls and tunnel walls were significantly poorer than the central hall.

Building stations of the pylon type is preferable in difficult geological situations, as such a station is better able to oppose earth pressure. However, the limited number of narrow passages limits the throughput between the halls.

London-type station

The pylon station was the earliest type of deep underground station. One variation is the so-called "London-style station." In such stations the central hall is reduced to the size of an anteroom, leading to the inclined walkway or elevators. In some cases the anteroom is also the base of the escalators. In the countries of the former USSR there is currently only one such station: Arsenalna in Kiev. In Moscow there were such stations, but they since been rebuilt: Lubyanka and Chistiye Prudy are now ordinary pylon stations, and Paveletskaya-Radialnaya is now a column station.

Examples

In the Moscow Metro, typical pylon station are Kievskaya-Koltsevaya, Smolenskaya of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line, Oktyabrskaya-Koltsevaya, and others.

In the Saint Petersburg Metro, pylon stations include Ploshchad Lenina, Pushkinskaya, Narvskaya, Gorkovskaya, Moskovskie Vorota, and others.

See also

• Shallow column station
• Deep column station
• Single-vault station