Rail transport in Belarus

Belarus
Operation
National railway Belarusskaja Železnaja Doroga
System length
Total 5,512 kilometres (3,425 mi)
Electrified 874 kilometres (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 (be: Bielaruskaja Čyhunka / ru: Belorusskaja Železnaja Doroga). The railway network consists of 5,512 km, its gauge is 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in) (Russian broad gauge) and 874 km are electrified.

History

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 mid 1860's 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

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 Kiev), the Orsha-Vitebsk (to Saint Petersburg), the Minsk-Vilnius and others. Some international trains serving Belarus are the Pribaltika Riga-Odessa, 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

Uruchye subway station in Minsk
A diesel locomotive at Orsha

Minsk is the only city with a subway system, the Minsk Metro. The network consists of two lines: Avtozavodskaya and Moskovskaya. The only cities with tramway systems are Minsk, Vitebsk, Mazyr and Novopolotsk.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-08-26. Retrieved 2011-08-30. Belarusian railway - Company - History
  2. ↑ Some historical information about railways of Belarus
  3. ↑ Timetable consulted on the DB website
  4. ↑ Timetable consulted on the DB website
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