Rail transport in Belarus
| Rail network in Belarus | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
,_Vitebsk_station.jpg) | |||||
| Operation | |||||
| National railway | Belarusskaja Železnaja Doroga | ||||
| System length | |||||
| Total | 5,512 km (3,425 mi) | ||||
| Electrified | 874 km (543 mi) | ||||
| Freight only | ? | ||||
| High-speed | 0 km | ||||
| Track gauge | |||||
| Main | 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) | ||||
| Electrification | |||||
| 25 kV 50 Hz | Main network | ||||
| |||||
Rail transport in Belarus is owned by the national rail company BŽD / BČ (Belarusian: Bielaruskaja Čyhunka / Russian: Belorusskaja Železnaja Doroga). The railway network of Belarus consists of 5,512 km (3,425 mi) of lines, its gauge is 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) Russian gauge ( broad gauge), of which 874 km (543 mi) are electrified.
History
[edit]The first line crossing the country was the Saint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway, which started operating in late 1862. This included section and railway station in Hrodna.[1] During the mid-1860s, railway line was built also from Daugavpils to Polatsk and further to Vitebsk. Line Warsaw-Brest, opened in 1866, completed to Moscow in 1871.[2]
Network
[edit]Belarus is crossed, from Brest to Orsha through Minsk, by an international rail line connecting Berlin and Warsaw to Moscow. Other important lines are the Minsk-Gomel (to Kyiv), the Orsha-Vitebsk (to Saint Petersburg), the Minsk-Vilnius and others. Some international trains serving Belarus are the Pribaltika Riga-Odesa, the Minsk-Irkutsk[3] and the Sibirjak Berlin-Novosibirsk (and other Russian destinations).[4]
The national network has no high-speed lines and is not served by high-speed trains.
Urban railways
[edit]
Minsk is the only city with a subway system, the Minsk Metro. The network consists of three lines: Awtazavodskaya, Maskoŭskaja and Zelenaluzhskaya. The only cities with tramway systems are Minsk, Vitebsk, Mazyr and Novopolotsk.
Rail links to adjacent countries
[edit]- (Poland) – yes – break-of-gauge 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in)/1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
- (Lithuania) – yes
- (Latvia) – yes
- (Russia) – yes
- (Ukraine) – yes (closed)
See also
[edit]- Transport in Belarus
- List of town tramway systems in Belarus
- Children's Railroad of Minsk
- Rail transport in the Soviet Union
References
[edit]- ^ "History". Archived from the original on 2011-08-26. Retrieved 2011-08-30. Belarusian railway - Company - History
- ^ Some historical information about railways of Belarus
- ^ Timetable consulted on the DB website
- ^ Timetable consulted on the DB website
External links
[edit]
- (in Russian) BŽD official website
- Railway network map of Belarus
