With almost 2 million inhabitants, Kharkiv (Khar'kov in Russian) is Ukraine's second largest city, situated in the eastern part of the country. Initially a combined network of existing suburban and new urban lines was planned during the 1960's, but when the first tunnel sections were finished common 2.7 m wide rolling stock was ordered for exclusive metro use.

The Kharkiv Metro was inaugurated on 23 August 1975 (10.4 km with 8 stations). It connects three railway and three major bus stations.

Stations in the city centre are very deep, less so in outer areas. Similarly to the Moscow or Kyiv metros, most stations are beautiful underground palaces. Platform length is 100 m for 5-car-trains on all lines.

Between Kyivs'ka and Barabashova, the Saltivs'ka Line crosses the Kharkiv river on a 988 m covered bridge.

The network has a total length of about 37.4 km with 29 stations (2010)