Secrets of the Kiev subway: who are the "red hats" and what do they do in the subway

Secrets of the Kiev subway: who are the "red hats" and what do they do in the subway
 We talked to a station attendant who has been watching over the passengers and meeting the trains for 45 years.
 At each station of the Kiev subway one can see an employee in a uniform and wearing a red headdress. The townspeople call them so: "red hats". Station attendants keep a close eye on the passengers and give signals to the driver with a special disc.
 To find out the secrets of their work, the Segodnya website talked to the main "red cap" of the capital subway. Anna Malofienko has been working at the station for 45 years, longer than all her colleagues. Now she works at the station "Darnitsa", where we met.
 There are 369 people on duty in the subway. 72 of them are men, who, by the way, wear red caps instead of caps.
 12 hours on platform
 Their duties include monitoring the arrival and departure of trains, embarkation and disembarkation of passengers, as well as control that people do not overstep the boundary line on the platform and behave appropriately.
 Two people are on duty at each station. One controls the situation on the platform, and the other monitors the monitors in the observation point. The shift on duty is 12 hours. The working day begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 8 p.m. The next day, the night shift is from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. After that, it's two days off.
 "It's not hard for me at all. I love my job. I like helping passengers. And to do this you always need to be in a good mood, even if you're not very happy", - shares with us Anna Nikolayevna.
 45 years on platform
 Before the subway, Anna Malofienko worked on the railroad for two years. She says she liked Kiev subway very much and she came to work here as a transfer student in 1976.
 "I remember my first working day well. Svyatoshyn station was the terminus then. They gave me a briefing, told me everything, explained my duties. Of course, it was scary, I was very nervous. I thought that I will not cope, but everything went well, "- recalls Anna.
 After she worked as a duty officer on "Shulyavskaya", "Arsenalnaya", and "Darnitsa" - since 1989.
 "Weapon" on duty
 The main tool on duty at the station - a disc with a handle, similar to a tennis racket. It is designed to give signals to the train driver. A white circle with a black middle is used when the train is departing from the platform or depot. The red disk is a signal for the driver to stop.
 Many passengers jokingly refer to the disc as a tennis racket and the women on the subway as tennis players.
 "We're fine with passengers' humor - both about the 'red hats' and about the discs we supposedly play tennis with. By the way, I like playing tennis with my grandchildren, but only after work", - Anna Nikolayevna tells us, smiling.
 A dynasty of subway workers
 The woman admits that she met her husband in the subway too. He works here, too. Together they raised a son and daughter.
 "The children are already adults. I became a grandmother - there are three granddaughters. I met my husband in the subway. I was transferred to the station "Chernigovskaya" - then it was called "Komsomolskaya". There I met my future husband. He also works in the subway. Our family is closely connected to the metro. My son, son-in-law and daughter-in-law work in the metro. Only my daughter went to work at the railroad", - Anna Nikolaevna tells us.
 With a smile for the people.
 Work duties duties oblige to study the passengers and constantly look after them on the platform, to be a bit of a psychologist. Our heroine says that people have changed a lot in those 45 years. Some not for the better - a lot of angry and indifferent citizens.
 "Passengers are all different. Someone is too happy, someone is very sad, and there are completely indifferent, who do not notice anyone and do not react to anything at all. I treat all passengers equally, good-naturedly and with a smile. I like to communicate with people, to explain, to prompt, to help", - says Anna.
 Most often she is asked how to get by subway to the place you need. Or ask how to get to the address from the station.
 Flip-flops and skateboards on the rails
 Often passengers drop their belongings on the tracks. Station attendants on duty help get them out of there.
 "Once even lifted a skateboard. We get things out with the help of a special device. Often passengers drop headphones, cell phones, sometimes children's toys. Alas, many behave carelessly and come close to the edge of the platform. By the way, before, women very often dropped their shoes, especially flip-flops, on the rails. We had to pick them up. Now we don't wear them so much," says the station attendant on duty.
 Passengers often forget their things on the station benches. These include children's toys, phones, and bags.
 "Once they even forgot their laptop on a bench. The owner came back for it an hour later and gave it back. If the owner does not appear in an hour or two, we send all the things in our Lost and Found at the station "Nivki" - adds Anna Nikolaevna.