Tbilisi Metro - History

History

Tbilisi (officially known as Tiflis until 1936), capital of Georgia, was always considered to be the fourth most important city of the Soviet Union, particularly of its political position as being the capital of the republic (Georgian SSR). Also the city grew quite rapidly during the nineteenth and twentieth century and apart from being a cultural centre and a political one was also an important transport hub in Transcaucasia and an industrial centre as well. All this amounted to the need of a rapid transit Metro system.

Construction began in 1952. Tbilisi was the only city of the former USSR where the construction of the Metro system started before the total of the residents crossed one million. Having a population over one million was one of the main criteria for building a metro-system in the Soviet cities. On 11 January 1966, the Tbilisi Metro was triumphantly opened becoming the first and only Metro system in Georgia and the fourth one in the former Soviet Union (after Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Kiev), when the first six stations were opened. Since then, the system has steadily grown to a two line 22 station network.

During the 1990s, most of the Soviet-era station names were changed, although the financial difficulties since the breakup of the Soviet Union hit the Metro particularly hard in its infrastructure, operations and extensions. In the early-mid 1990s the Tbilisi metro was usually not working due to the lack of electricity. Until recently, the Metro had been underfunded and operated in severe difficulties due to poor electrical supply. It had also become infamous for widespread petty crime, like pickpocketing and mugging. In addition, there have been several incidents at metro stations in recent years. On October 9, 1997, a former policeman blew himself up at Didube station. On February 14, 2000, a teenager threw a homemade hand grenade into a metro station, injuring several people. In March 2004, several people were poisoned by an unidentified gas while using the Metro.

However, the crime has reduced as a result of security and administration reforms in the system from 2004 to 2005. Other services have also significantly improved.

Currently, the Tbilisi Metro system is undergoing a major rehabilitation effort, including the reconstruction of the stations as well as modernization of trains and other facilities. The city's 2006 budget allocated 16 million lari for this project. President of Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili, promised to make the Metro most prestigious public transport and charged Director General of Tbilisi Metro, Zurab Kikalishvili, in late 2005, to bring the metro to European standards by 2007. In subsequent years, however, the upgrade process has slowed significantly and as of July 2010, the Tbilisi metro rail is still far from its target standard.