Oleh Hudzeliak Profile picture
Nov 24, 2022 11 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Renaissance of #CrossBorderRail in 🇺🇦

Restoration of railway line Przemyśl (PL) - Khyriv (UA) - Krościenko (PL) is underway!

What is special about this railway?
Why is it useful for PKP?
And why did armed soviet border guards drive by the open doors of each carriage?

Thread⬇️
Railway was built in 1872 as part of the First Hungarian-Galician railway, which connected Budapest with Lviv

At that time, railway didn't cross any borders - it was Austro-Hungarian Empire. But after the end of WW2, track crossed 3 countries: Ukraine, Poland and Czechoslovakia
Railway begins in Przemyśl (PL), after 12 km it crosses UA-PL border. After 38 km through the territory of Ukraine, it returns to Poland again

Approximately in the middle there is Khyriv station (UA) - a connection point with broad gauge railway network of Ukraine
Original track gauge - 1435 mm, as it was everywhere in western part of 🇺🇦 before WW2. But then track in 🇺🇦 part became combined - 1435+1520 mm

For Poland this railway was always important. Why? Just look at the map again. The shortest way to Zagórz and via Lupkov Pass to 🇸🇰
Since 1963, under a special agreement, PKP has launched passenger trains on this railway through the territory of 🇺🇦

For many Poles it was the only opportunity to see the neighboring country. Only from the window. "Solina" train from Warsaw to Zagórz was running there
An unusual precedent. Train didn't stop at 🇺🇦 part, passengers didn't go through checks at the border, but soviet border guards stood at the door in each car and made sure that no one jumped out, threw anything, etc.

Jokes were circulating about them

Photo: Tadeusz Suchorolski
In 1994 "Solina" train was canceled. Since then, railway border Malhowice (PL) - Nyzhankovychi (UA) has become abandoned

Second border crossing Starzhava (UA) - Krościenko (PL) was more fortunate - 🇵🇱 local trains ran there until 2010
A piece of history: special steam train for enthusiasts at Khyriv station and, of course, Ukrainian border guards

1994
Photo: Adrian Nicholls
If we talk about broad gauge trains, there were few of them. Only local trains to Sambir station, they ceased to exist in 2020 "due to the lockdown"

Photo: Gábor Loránd Nagy
New life of this railway began in 2022, although it has not yet been fully renovated. But looking at these photos, faith in a good future appears

So important feeling in these dark times
This is my photo from 2017. 5 am, morning train from Starzhava. 2 passenger cars and 3 containers! Yes, these trains were mixed - you don't see that very often in 🇺🇦

To take this photo, I had to spend the whole night at the Khyriv station - all for the sake of a good 📷

End ;)

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More from @o_hudzeliak

Jun 9, 2023
Wide gauge passenger carriages have reached Warszawa Wschodnia! For the first time since 2012

How was it? Thread ⬇️ Image
Poland is the most popular international destination for 🇺🇦 passengers now. Direct train from Kyiv to Warsaw consists of 6-7 cars due to the deficit of RIC cars. Hubs operate in Przemyśl (5 trains daily) and Chełm (2 trains daily) at almost full capacity Image
But passengers don't like transfers. Passengers want a direct train. And this is a challenge

Fun fact: wide gauge cars have been in use until 2012 on the Kyiv - Warsaw route. What's more, by the 1990s they were reaching Berlin

📷: PKPE__77 Image
Read 14 tweets
Nov 9, 2022
Finally! UZ and CFR have restored international railway connection between Rakhiv (UA) and Valea-Višeului (RO) in the Carpathians.

After a more than 10-year break, this region ceases to be a railway dead end. We have been waiting for this for a long time!
At the end of August, Ukrainian railways completed restoration of 19.3 kilometers of tracks and was waiting for the completion of works on the Romanian side.

Same place 2 months ago:
Why is this important? In addition to local trains, Rakhiv has direct connections with Kyiv and Odesa, Valea Višeului - with Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca. But railway was isolated from both sides, it was very inconvenient for tourists exploring this beautiful part of Carpathians
Read 7 tweets
Nov 8, 2022
Another reason why I love being on this railway is that it's one of those places where you kind of forget about time. People here are as they are, there is a homely atmosphere without the hustle and bustle of big cities.

Authenticity lives in such places Image
A package of fresh pies in conductor's compartment Image
Busy train drivers ImageImage
Read 4 tweets
Nov 8, 2022
Haivoron is an exotic place on the railway map of Ukraine. There are two gauge standards at local station: wide 1520 mm and narrow 750 mm. And if you are very lucky, you will see a real narrow-gauge steam locomotive. Reparation German loco 🙂 🧵 Image
On the outskirts, narrow-gauge railway crosses the charming Pivdennyi Buh river, and than begins a considerable ascent from the river valley, steam and diesel locos have to strain a little here. Fishermen and sometimes kayakers are always hanging out near the bridge Image
This steam loco has an interesting history. It was born in 1950 in Babelsberg in Germany and came to Ukraine as reparation after World War II. Steam locomotives are generally quite capricious and difficult to repair, especially when loco is 72 years old Image
Read 5 tweets

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