The first segment of the line, originally constructed in 1966, begins at the Taganka Square and follows Volgogradsky avenue through the neighbourhoods of Pechatniki, Kuzminki and Tekstilshchiki.

It was decided to extend both lines northwards and have them meet close to the Kremlin, which was realized in 1970 when Kitay-Gorod, the first cross-platform station in Moscow metro, was constructed.

However, right from the beginning, the progress in the construction was hindered by the need to dig a tunnel beneath the sorting yard of the Belorussky Rail Terminal, which consisted of 27 individual railway tracks.

The boring of the final section between Polezhayevskaya and Oktyabrskoye Pole also presented additional challenges, as the soil had a heavy concentration loose sand typically used to elevate railways.

In the end, after its opening in 1972, the Krasnopresnensky radius helped to relive major transport arteries and traffic congestion and provided a crucial link to a railway platform via Begovaya station just like its southern counterpart.

Shortly after the Krasnopresnensky radius was commenced in 1972, the construction of the line's two final segments began – the crucial central link and the norther extension to Tushino.

The former was built with two deep level column stations (Pushkinskaya and Kuznetsky most), where one of the centrepieces was the increased diameter of the central vault of 9.5 metres (31 ft 2 in).

The latter section, which was set to run further west through the Shchukino district and then turn north towards the end Severnoye Tushino, encountered a significant difficulty when building under the Moscow Canal.

Nonetheless, that was insufficient to solve the problem, and in 2013 the line was extended to the south-eastern districts of Moscow outside the Ring Road with the opening of Zhulebino and Lermontovsky Prospekt stations.

Another source of congestion to the northern terminus station, Planernaya, is the newly developed Kurkino district, which lies nearby just beyond the Moscow Ring Road.

Additionally, passengers from Khimki diverted to this station due to redevelopment of the Rechnoy Vokzal area that caused changes in the bus routes.