Right now, Russia’s capital is undergoing a vast transit expansion that will see its metro stations increase by almost 40 percent between now and 2020. In a rare achievement for this kind of project, much of the expansion actually seems to be way ahead of schedule, with many new stations set to open in 2018, and some possibly even earlier. The only delay so far, it seems, has been in paying construction workers.

The expansion is both huge and badly needed. While the city’s subway trains run more frequently than any other system in the world (at a rate of one train every 90 seconds) Moscow above ground remained the most congested city in the world after Istanbul last year. Authorities are belatedly throwing a lot of effort into de-clogging the city’s car-packed roads and abating daily commuter stress. Among new and upcoming projects are smart traffic sensors, a new ex-urban container hub and improved bypass routes for through-traffic crossing the city.

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