Border Crossings: Poland - Ukraine
Note that there is a one hour time difference between Poland and Ukraine. Users should check whether or not Ukraine is using Daylight Saving Time.
(Chełm -) Dorohusk PKP - Yahodyn UZ (- Kovel')
[D] The cross-border section comprises one 1435 mm gauge track and one 1520 mm gauge track. 1435 mm gauge track extends eastwards to a shipment yard at Kovel, 59 km east of Yahodyn. 1520 mm gauge track extends westwards to an oil installation a few km west of Chełm. Both gauges are used by freight over their full length. The 1435 mm gauge track is electrified as far as Dorohusk.
PKP operates a long standing Warszawa - Kyïv overnight service on the 1435mm gauge tracks to/from Yahodyn, where gauge changing takes place by means of bogie exchange. The train thus changes to/from PKP diesel traction for the short cross-border journey; this is the only PKP operated passenger service east of Chelm.
A daytime pair of Ukrainian DMUs commenced on 12 June 2017 between Kovel and Chelm, coinciding with the end of visa requirements for Ukrainians which from 24 August 2017 were extended within Ukraine to run from/to Zdolbuniw. This was the first passenger service on the 1520 mm gauge cross border track since at least June 2000 and was initially successful and increased to two pairs. Subsequently reduced to one at the December 2018 Timetable change, from 9 June 2019 this pair only operated to Dorohusk with a bus to/from Chelm allegedly due to a Customs dispute with the Polish Authorities concerning fuel duty. Even that service was withdrawn after running on the 18 June 2019. Refugee trains with Ukrainian Railway DMU's served Chelm from 2 March 2022 and a pair of overnights on the Broad gauge allegedly commenced on 4/5 May 2022. Timings are in the PKP Journey planner but not PDFs, and as at December 2022 were Train D23 Kiev 23:52 Kovel 07:21 Chełm 12:35, train D24/IC22002 Chelm 16:00 Kovel 22:49 Kiev 06:13. Traction cross border and within Poland is not yet known.
(Sławków -) Hrubieszów LHS - Izov LHS
[D] This 1520mm gauge line is the "Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa" (Broad-Gauge Steel Line) between Sławków near Katowice and Vladimir in Ukraine. A limited long distance International passenger service ended some years ago, so current use is freight and "road-train" services and LHS do not have a passenger train licence, nor any passenger coaches. Nevertheless Ukrainian Railways coaches hauled by LHS locomotives operated into Poland to Olkusz with refugees from 28 February 2022.
Letters of Intent to electrify from Kowel in the Ukraine to Hrubieszów were signed in April 2017. In 2009 cross border staff trains ran to the railway carriage works at Hrubieszów Towarowy from Izov with timings based on shift patterns but it is not recommended to attempt to travel due to Ukraine Border controls. This line was formerly part of PKP and was called "Steel and Sulphur Railway".
Hrebenne PKP - Rava Rus'ka UZ
[D] 1435mm. A train operated by SKPL for PKP/UZ ran on 6 April 2023 to test arrangements for a planned re-opening, and SKPL have now applied to commence services from 1 June with one pair a day, proposed details here. The previous PKP-operated 1435mm gauge through service to/from Warszawa that only commenced on 2 June 1996 had been withdrawn after 3 June 2005, and the line has no freight traffic as the tracks to the interchange sidings at Rava Rus'ka have been lifted. For freight PKP have said they see no need for this line as the alternative of Rava Rus'ka to Werchrata has capacity for five pairs a day and the average monthly 2022 use was one train in one direction.
8km of this line is within Ukraine, 2km in Poland, and as via Hrebenne is the shortest rail route to/from Warszawa, Ukrainian Railways have announced they plan to start dual gauge rail laying from Rava Rus'ka towards the planned terminal in Bryukhovtsi near Lviv later in 2023.
Werchrata PKP - Rava Rus'ka UZ
[D] A Broad gauge freight only crossing, now worked by UZ only to open air transhipment platform to the east of Werchrata station. Press notices advise over 300,000 tons of goods were transhipped in 2020, primarily clay, salt and aggregates matching with 2018 YouTube videos of PKP freights and open topped double-bogied mineral wagons. There are storage sidings on both gauges alongside the PKP station but the 1520 mm lines to the south of Werchrata have been out of use for decades.
(Przemyśl -) Medyka PKP - Mostys'ka 2 UZ (- L'viv)
[E] From Przemyśl Główny station there are separate standard and broad gauge tracks which take totally different routes either side of large transhipment yards between Hurko and Medyka which at maximum are 650m apart. From Medyka PKP across the border is two tracks, of which at least one is interlaced.
PKP and UZ had operated a long standing daily overnight service between Kyiv/L'viv and both Wrocław and Warszawa which has had a complicated cross border history but this was withdrawn at the 11 December 2022 timetable change. There are gauge changing facilities east of Przemyśl Główny [lifting jacks for bogie change with associated locomotive shunts] and Mostys'ka 2 [open air SUW 2000 - for compatible bogied coaches] with either used over time. The overnight service started using the SUW 2000 equipment on 15 December 2003. SUW 2000 use ceased as it was observed out of use in October 2017 but was in use again by April 2018. The Przemyśl Główny arrival/departure sheets in 2019 confirmed only the standard gauge platforms were used by this service meaning either bogie changer could be used. See Lines with Obscure or Sparse passenger services (Przemyśl Główny –) Hurko – Medyka (– Mostys'ka 2).
UZ had run long distance day and (seasonal) overnight loco hauled services into Przemyśl Główny on the broad gauge which ended on 8 December 2012, but a daytime Kyiv - L'viv - Przemyśl resumed on 23 December 2016 using a modern 1520 mm gauge EMU. This service was doubled on 24 August 2017 when Ukrainian Citizens no longer needed visas to visit the EU, this second service serving a different route between L'viv and Kyiv. An overnight Kyiv - Przemyśl, again using the same EMU's commenced on 20/21 April 2022 and by December 2022 the service was four pairs daily.
UZ works broad gauge freight to yards within Poland. The 1520 mm gauge line splits at Hurko into a branch to a transshipment depot at Krówniki, the passenger line to Przemyśl Glowny and a freight line avoiding Przemyśl to yards at Zurawica. PKP works standard gauge freight trains into Ukraine with the 1435 mm gauge track ending at a transshipment facility 3 km east of Mostys'ka 2 station.
(Przemyśl -) Malhowice PKP - Nyzhankovychi UZ (- Dobromyl' - Khyriv)
[D] PKP PLK completed an upgrade of what is only SG tracks to the border at Malhowice in Autumn 2022 to passenger carrying standards, [even refurbishing the station platforms], saying "carriers will be able to plan the launch of passenger connections". This follows the Marshall of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship including Przemyśl to the Ukrainian border in its investment plans for 2021-2027 but press articles make it clear there are no plans to re-instate the corridor route via Khyriv even though UZ by February 2023 have reinstated dual gauge track to Nyzhankovychi. This is despite there being no freight trans-shipment infrastructure at Nyzhankovychi as historically this was only a border station on a through standard gauge corridor route.
Until early 1995, PKP operated a 1435mm gauge Warszawa - Zagorz train through Ukraine via this route and the Krościenko - Star'iava border crossing but by July 2004, significant lengths of the 1435mm gauge track within Ukraine had been lifted north of Dobromyl'. Following the lifting of Visa restrictions on Ukrainians all trees etc were cleared from the Polish section, which in Autumn 2016 triggered some repair work by UZ, and by December 2018 there had apparently been ten cross-border Przemyśl to Nyzhankovychi trains with politicians, tourists, journalists and volunteers on board. So the short term use cross border remains unclear.
(Sanok - Ustrzyki Dolne -) Krościenko PKP - Star'iava UZ (- Khyriv)
[D] Closed since a short resumption of passenger traffic ended on 9 November 2010 but Web photos and a February 2023 press article confirmed UZ had totally relayed their side of the border with interlaced track to Stariava, and SG track to the border so clearly they are hoping cross border traffic can resume. But it is known the Polish track is in poor condition as when remedial Work by PKP to allow DMU's for Ukrainian refugees to travel west from Kroscienko was undertaken in just a few days for a first train on 3 March 2022, unfortunately this derailed between Ustianowa - Olszanica with no injuries so it took until 24 March for further spot repairs and the next train to run which started from the staff platform at the joint road/rail border control 3.3km further east from Kroscienko station.
Previously after Ukrainian Visa restrictions were lifted it is known SKPL operated a demonstration special to Khyriv on 25 June 2017 but pre-war, PKP advised in April 2020 they had no plans to reinstate a cross border service, [see the above entry for the latest on the previous "corridor" route to Przemysl]. In the Ukraine an internal passenger service of two trains per day ran on the 1520mm gauge of the interlaced track between Khyriv and Stariava, and prior to cross border closure PKP had operated 1435mm gauge passenger services between Sanok (Zagórz before 2004/2005) and Khyriv. Freight trains continued between Sanok and Ustrzyki Dolne until 15 December 2013, since then a Draisine operation has been travelling east from Ustrzyki Dolne station but even so a Turkol DMU special managed to reach the Ursa Major brewery 1km east of Ustrzyki Dolne in October 2020.
From 26 June 2021 the PKP Timetable includes a Summer Tourist service to Ustrzyki Dolne/Mineralna Saturdays only Krakow – Lupkow (late June to late September) direct to Uherce, reverses, and returns to Zagorz and onwards to Lupkow, thereby doing both sides of the triangle north of Zagorz. The return working on the Sunday does the same route in reverse.
