Rail transport in Belarus

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.

Belarus
Map of the system
Operation
National railwayBelarusskaja Železnaja Doroga
System length
Total5,512 km (3,425 mi)
Electrified874 km (543 mi)
Freight only?
High-speed0 km
Track gauge
Main1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in)
Electrification
25 kV 50 HzMain network

History
Main article: History of rail transport in Belarus

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
See also: Belarusian Railways

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-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
Electric trainsets in Orsha

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.

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-08-26. Retrieved 2011-08-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) 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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