The Sestroretsk spur line was laid by request of the

Russian Ministry of Defence The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (russian: Министерство обороны Российской Федерации, Минобороны России, informally abbreviated as МО, МО РФ or Minoboron) is the govern ...

for communication of the Sestroretsk armory with the strategic Riihimäki-Saint Petersburg railway in

1871 Events January–March * January 3 – Franco-Prussian War – Battle of Bapaume: Prussians win a strategic victory. * January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...

. The line was opened on 2 November 1871, when the first train proceeded on the route from

Beloostrov Beloostrov (russian: Белоо́стров; fi, Valkeasaari; ), from 1922 to World War II Krasnoostrov (russian: Красноо́стров, lit=Red Island, link=no), is a municipal settlement in Kurortny District of the federal city of St. ...

Sestroretsk Sestroretsk (russian: Сестроре́цк; fi, Siestarjoki; sv, Systerbäck) is a municipal town in Kurortny District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, the Sestra River an ...

Timetable

In 1872 the schedule of trains of the Sestroretsk branch was published in the city directory. From Beloostrov went three pairs trains: in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening. The time taken for the 6.6 kilometre journey was 25 minutes, giving an average speed of less than 16 kilometres per hour.

Miller's line

A study in 1872 had shown the line was unprofitable and in 1873 the administration decided to close it. These plans became known to entrepreneurs in Sestroretsk and they bought the line from Finnish railways. The new line was the private "Societies of the Sestroretsk railway" and was named Miller's line after Michael Ivanovich Miller. Miller's line was not fully independent, as the

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

was rented from Finnish railways.

References

{{Lines seaside direction (Saint Petersburg - Sestroretsk) Railway lines in Finland Railway lines in Russia Electric railways in Finland Electric railways in Russia 5 ft gauge railways in Finland