Railway system of the Soviet Union

Soviet Railways (Russian: Советские железные дороги (СЖД)) was the state owned national railway system of the Soviet Union, headquartered in Moscow. The railway started operations in December 1922, shortly after the formation of the Soviet Union. Soviet Railways greatly upgraded and expanded the Russian Imperial Railways to meet the demands of the new country. It operated until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991.[1]

Soviet Railways
Steam locomotives, such as the P36, were the quintessential symbol of the Soviet Railways.
Overview
HeadquartersMoscow
Reporting markSZhD, SZD
LocaleSoviet Union
Dates of operation19221991
PredecessorRIZhD, JGR
SuccessorRŽD, UZ, BCh, ADDY, SR, HYU, LG, CFM, EVR, LZD, KTZ, OTY, TZD, KTJ
Technical
Track gauge1,520 mm (4 ft 11+2732 in)
Electrification3 kV DC, 25 kV AC, 50 Hz
Length147,400 km (91,600 mi)

The Soviet Railways were the largest unified railway in the world and the backbone of the Soviet Union's economy. The railway was directly under the control of the Ministry of Railways in the Soviet Union.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Soviet Railways split into fifteen different national railways belonging to the respective countries. However, after the end of Soviet Railways, rail transport in the former Soviet states greatly declined and have not recovered to their former efficiency to this day.[2] By mileage, Russian Railways was the primary successor of Soviet Railways. Newly-independent countries following the breakup, such as those in Central Asia, inherited the Soviet infrastructure.

Successor railways

Railway Native name Country Year started Length (in km) Notes
Armenian Railways Հայկական երկաթուղի
Haykakan yerkat’ughi (HYU)
 Armenia 1992–2008 845 km Railway operations and infrastructure taken over by South Caucasus Railway (Հարավկովկասյան երկաթուղի, Haravkovkasyan yerkat’ughi) in 2008, a subsidiary of Russian Railways.
Azerbaijan Railways Azərbaycan Dəmir Yolları (ADY)  Azerbaijan 1991 2,932 km
Belarusian Railway Беларуская чыгунка
Belaruskaya Chygunka (BCh)
 Belarus 1992 5,490 km
Estonian Railways Eesti Raudtee (EVR)  Estonia 1992 816 km Train operations have since been separated as Elron, Edelaraudtee, Operail and GoRail.
Georgian Railways საქართველოს რკინიგზა
sakartvelos rk'inigza (SR)
 Georgia 1992 1,513 km In the de facto independent Abkhazia, the railway has been operated by Abkhaz Railway since 1992.
Kazakhstan Railways Қазақстан Темір Жолы
Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ)
 Kazakhstan 1997 15,000 km
Kyrgyz Railways Кыргыз Темир Жолу
Kyrgyz Temir Jolu (KTJ)
 Kyrgyzstan 1992 417 km
Latvian Railways Latvijas dzelzceļš (LDz)  Latvia 1992 2,269 km Passenger operations have since been taken over by the separate company Pasažieru vilciens (PV).
Lithuanian Railways Lietuvos geležinkeliai (LTG)  Lithuania 1991 1,766 km
Moldovan Railways Calea Ferată din Moldova (CFM)  Moldova 1992 1,156 km Railway operations in the de facto independent Transnistria are operated by Transnistrian Railway (Приднестровская железная дорога, Pridnestrovskaya zheleznaya doroga).
Russian Railways Российские железные дороги
Rossiyskie zheleznye dorogi (RŽD)
 Russia 1992 85,281 km
Tajik Railways Роӽи оӽани Тоҷикистон
Rohi ohani Toçikiston
 Tajikistan 1992 616 km
Ukrainian Railways Укрзалізниця
Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ)
 Ukraine 1991 22,300 km
Uzbek Railways Oʻzbekiston Temir Yoʻllari (OTY)  Uzbekistan 1994 4,669 km

See also

References

  1. Russian Railways - History of Russian Railways (1914-1991)
  2. Russian Railways - History of Russian Railways (1991-2003)

Further reading

  • Kelly, Peter (April 1984). "Railways in the Soviet Union". Rail Enthusiast. EMAP National Publications. pp. 24–27. ISSN 0262-561X. OCLC 49957965.
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