Ukraine - General Information

From EGTRE
Revision as of 14:19, 21 November 2010 by Paul Steane (talk | contribs) (Created page with "==Country Name== Ukraine (Україна) ==National Railway System== Українські Залізниці [УЗ] (Ukrainski Zaliznitsi [UZ]) ==Official Website== [http://ww...")
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigationJump to search

Country Name

Ukraine (Україна)

National Railway System

Українські Залізниці [УЗ] (Ukrainski Zaliznitsi [UZ])

Official Website

www.uz.gov.ua (in Ukrainian and Russian)

Languages

Ukrainian and Russian are officially recognised. Both are written in Cyrillic characters, but the Ukrainian alphabet includes several characters not used in Russian. Railway tickets are normally issued from computer terminals and may be issued in either language, depending on how the passenger requests it.

Currency

Hrivnia (UAH) = 100 kopeks

UIC code

numeric 22; alpha UA

Timetable

The complete public timetable is only generally available to railway staff, but summary printed timetables for main and local trains are sold in the relevant areas, with schedules of stopping services posted at the stations concerned. By far the best source of information (in Russian as well as Ukrainian; formerly also in English) is on the UZ Web site at www.uz.gov.ua/?m=services.transppl.schedule. Note that if you know the train number you can enter it directly.

Some timetable information in English (check revision date) can be obtained from the unofficial site at www.ts.kiev.ua/kiev/transpor/train/tte.htm.

Maps

  • On-line (Cyrillic place-names): www.uz.gov.ua/?m=all.road.mapa; sections of Dmitry Zinoviev's "Supermap" of the railways of the former USSR, for example parovoz.com/maps/supermap/supermap.php?X=E&Y=2&LANG=en (see hyperlinked English legend for key to colour-coding and types of line used).
  • Printed: A comprehensive atlas of the Ukrainian rail network (and that of Belarus) in English and German, which records the evolution of the network and place-names on it, has been published in December 1995 by the Quail Map Co. (Lincoln Rd., Exeter, UK EX4 2DZ (ISBN 1 898319 10 3) but is now out of print.

Inexpensive plans of major cities at e.g. 1:20,000 (unfortunately lacking urban transport information) are published by the "Kartographia" company - see: www.ukrmap.com.ua.

Gauge

Broad (1520mm), except for a few standard-gauge links across the western borders. Over the years, many former narrow-gauge lines (750 mm) have been replaced by broad-gauge tracks, but a few with sparse passenger services still remain (Rudnycja - Hajvoron - Holovanivs’k, Vinohradiv-Zak. - Iršava, Antonivka - Zarične).

Electrification

3kV dc and 25kV 50Hz. At transition points such as Lvov, Pyatikhaki Stykovaya and Timkovo, the power supply to the catenary is switchable to enable locomotives of through trains to be changed. Some dual-voltage motive-power is available, but single-voltage equipment is still in production.

Network length, gauge and electrification as at 1994:

23350km broad gauge; 9000km electrified at 3kV dc or 25kV 50Hz; 201km standard gauge, electrified at 3kV dc.

Rule of the road

Right (but note some sections of track are equipped for running in either direction).

Other public railways

None (note that the industrial railways at mines, steelworks etc. are part of UZ).

Tourist lines

As in other parts of the former Soviet Union, several cities in the Ukraine have a public narrow-gauge railway that combines a hobby activity for teenagers with practical training in railway operation. These 'Dyetsky Zelegny Dorogy' (DZD) typically operate on a few km of track in a public park on weekends between 1 May and the start of the new school year. For details, see the Web site (partly in English) railways.id.ru/towns/towns.html. There is a small Railway Museum located behind the main passenger station at Donetsk (closed on weekends). Admission free. [Today's Railways, No. 88, p. 60]

Metro

Kiev, Kharkov, Dniepropetrovsk. All networks have plans for further extensions, but implementation of them is hindered by lack of funding.

Trams

City networks in Kharkov, Kiev, Krivoy Rog (where there is a separate, partly underground, rapid transit line 11.6 km long), Lvov, Odessa, etc. - see www.lrta.org/world/worldu-z.html#Ukraine.

Recent and future changes

Until the break-up of the Soviet Union, the Ukrainian railways were an integral part of its broad-gauge network. Since independence in 1991, it has evolved technically and operationally in accordance with the changing national political and economic framework, in which road competition has increased significantly, and some minor rail services have been withdrawn. Nevertheless they remain an important part of the national transport infrastructure, and investment continues, notably in renovating major stations.

The routes carrying the heaviest traffic are already electrified. The first electrification, at 3kV dc, was between Zaporozh'ye and Krivoy Rog, in 1935. After 4 years' experience with an initial 23 km route between Kiev and Boyaka, the next stage began in 1954 with electrification of local passenger services around Kiev, and this was followed within a few years by implementation of a plan for extensive main-line electrification, also at 3 kV. Within a decade, however, it became evident that the 25kV 50Hz system was more economical, and this was adopted for all new installations, except where interworking with existing 3kV operation would then be too inconvenient. As the network around Kiev would otherwise be a 3kV 'island' surrounded by 25kV, it was converted to 25kV in October 1967, just before inauguration of through electric haulage between Kiev and Moscow. Recently, the highest priority has been to complete electrification of major through routes, notably that between Kiev and Kharkov via Mirgorod and Poltava.

According to a report on 20 February 2003 in Pravda: "Russia and Ukraine are going to build a railway tunnel under the Kerch strait, linking the Black and Azov seas. Its annual throughput capacity will be 15 million passengers and 150 million tonnes of cargo. The 15 kilometer-long tunnel will connect two sea ports on the Russia and Ukrainian shores of the strait."

In the context of the EU "Tacis" programme, various studies are being made of possible trans-European routes consisting of new or upgraded railway infrastructure between St-Petersburg and Odessa.

Special notes

The Ukrainian railway network UZ consists of six regional divisions: Lvivska (Western part of Ukraine), Pivdenno-Zakhidna (Central and Northern part), Odes'ka (Southern part), Pivdenna (North-East part), Donetska (Eastern part) and Prydniprovska (South-East part). Trackside signs indicate divisional boundaries, and some services on cross country routes now terminate at the Regional boundary towns, reducing through journey opporrtunities.

In 2000 UZ transported a total of 498.7 million people over 141.1 billion passenger-km (1999: 486.8 million passengers and 130.4 billion passenger-km). They also hauled a total of 472.2 billion tonne-km of freight (1999: 428.3 billion tonne-km).

Passenger services on the Ukrainian railway network are either local or long distance; in principle, two classes of accommodation, known as 'hard' and 'soft' are available. Local services centred on major cities are operated with EMUs (typically hard class only) and run relatively frequently during business hours, stopping at most or all stations and halts en route. As reservations are neither required nor available for travel by them, they have separate ticket offices (and indeed, separate platforms at major stations).

Long-distance services within the broad-gauge area consist of several coaches divided into compartments, which can be converted into sleeping accommodation for use overnight, and hauled by locomotives. Advance reservation is required for all travel by these trains; intending travellers must present an ID card/passport when making reservations (this is a precaution against 'ticket touts').

International passenger services using through sleeping coaches whose bogies are replaced at the border station run overnight between major stations in the Ukraine and Warsaw, Berlin, Budapest etc. The first UZ and PKP sleeping coaches equipped with variable-gauge axles have been running three times weekly in trains 35 and 36 between Kiev and Krakow since 14 December 2003; the time taken by the transition (at Mostiska2) is about 3 hours less than that required to replace the bogies.

Information on rail travel : see "Russia by rail, with Belarus & Ukraine," by Athol Yates, Bradt Publications, 1996, ISBN 0-7627-0008-4.

Other General Information

Rolling Stock

For UZ rolling stock, see www.railfaneurope.net/list/ukraine.html (includes hyperlinks to stock tables). Index of Ukraine rail web sites:www.railway.te.ua/ua_en.htm?showtype=all.

Passenger train numbering

Throughout the broad-gauge network of the former Soviet Union, long-distance passenger trains are numbered in the range below 1000, in many cases followed by a letter. The most important trains are numbered below 100. In principle, each train whose destination is to the south and/or west of its origin bears an odd number; the corresponding return working bears the following even number. Note that some run only on alternate days (always odd or even dates at a particular station en route). The schedule for each can be consulted on-line by entering the train number. Local passenger trains are generally numbered in the 6xxx range.

Trackside features

Many of the trackside features found elsewhere (gradient boards, speed limits...) are absent on UZ. And the names of all but the most important stations appear only once, typically on the facade of the main building. Only a few major stations have pedestrian subways; elsewhere passengers must cross the tracks on the level (taking care to avoid trains). Note that:

Kilometer posts bear two consecutive figures (the lower on the side nearest "0"); on some main routes they show the distance from the corresponding terminus in Moscow (eg about 1750 km near Tchop). The name of each noteworthy river is shown on a blue board situated a few metres before a bridge over it.

See also