Belarus - General Information: Difference between revisions

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(→‎Recent and future changes: Minsk and Homel and the branch Zhlobin to Kalinkavichy electrification)
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==Recent and future changes==
==Recent and future changes==
The line between Minsk and Homel and the branch off it from Zhlobin to Kalinkavichy are being electrified.
A cross-border service between Grodno/Гродна and Kuźnica Białostocka (Poland) was reinstated from 4 Sept 2016, with a Kraków <> Grodno portion of the Krakow <> Mockava (Lithuania) train. Local services were discontinued at the December 2015 timetable change as they were to be replaced by PKP IC services between Warszawa and Grodno, which never ran owing to funding issues.
A cross-border service between Grodno/Гродна and Kuźnica Białostocka (Poland) was reinstated from 4 Sept 2016, with a Kraków <> Grodno portion of the Krakow <> Mockava (Lithuania) train. Local services were discontinued at the December 2015 timetable change as they were to be replaced by PKP IC services between Warszawa and Grodno, which never ran owing to funding issues.



Revision as of 12:59, 25 October 2016

Country Name

Belarus (officially The Republic of Belarus) (Беларусь)

National railway system

  • Belarusian: BČ - Belaruskaja Čyhunka / БЧ - Беларуская Чыгунка
  • Russian: BŽD - Belorusskaja Železnaja Doroga / БЖД - Белорусская Железная Дорога

Official Website

http://www.rw.by/ (in Russian)

Language

Since a referendum in 1995, the country has had two official languages: Belarusian and Russian. However, all station names are exclusively in Belarusian, apart from a few large stations which are bilingual - Russian or Łacinka, Belarusian rendered in the Latin alphabet.

Currency

Belarusian ruble (BYR).

UIC code

numeric 21; alpha BLR.

Timetable

Journey Planner

Train timetable

Downloadable Timetable

None.

Printed Timetable

None.

Engineering Information

None.

Maps

Printed Maps

Web-based Maps

Gauge

"Russian" gauge (1520mm)

Electrification

25kV 50Hz.

Rule of the road

Right.

Other railways

None.

Tourist lines

The narrow gauge K.S. Zaslonov Children's Railway is located in Chelyuskinites Park in Minsk.

Metro

Minsk.

Trams

Minsk, Vicebsk [Russian: Vitebsk], Mazyr, Novopolotsk.

Recent and future changes

The line between Minsk and Homel and the branch off it from Zhlobin to Kalinkavichy are being electrified.

A cross-border service between Grodno/Гродна and Kuźnica Białostocka (Poland) was reinstated from 4 Sept 2016, with a Kraków <> Grodno portion of the Krakow <> Mockava (Lithuania) train. Local services were discontinued at the December 2015 timetable change as they were to be replaced by PKP IC services between Warszawa and Grodno, which never ran owing to funding issues.

A Talgo gauge-changer was installed at Brest station, for which certification was expected in the first quarter of 2015, to be used by the Moskva - Berlin service. This should have started running during 2016 but was postponed owing to decreased demand as result of the fall of the rouble against the euro. It will finally start operation on 17 December 2016.

One train each way between Grodno/Гродна and Vilnius at weekends only was reintroduced on 6 June 2015, reopening the Benjakonī/Беняконі - Stasylos (Lithuania) border crossing, but withdrawn after 8 November.

The 72km line from Molodechno to Kena in Lithuania is to be electrified, which will eliminate diesel traction on services from Vilnius to Minsk

Special Notes

None.

See also