The old Karelian railroad () between Viipuri and

Joensuu Joensuu (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Karelia. It is located in the eastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Joensuu is approximately , while the sub-region has a population ...

was a

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

line that used to link Joensuu,

Sortavala Sortavala (; Finnish language, Finnish and ; ), previously known as Serdobol () until 1918, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Ladoga near the Finland, Finni ...

Hiitola Khiytola (; ) is a rural locality (a settlement) in Lakhdenpokhsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia. History The Finnish name of the settlement (Hiitola) derives from " Hiisi", the name of a forest spirit in Karelian-Finnish mythol ...

, Antrea and Viipuri. Originally built in 1892-1894 by

Finnish State Railways VR-Group Plc (, ), commonly known as VR, is a government-owned railway company in Finland. VR's most important function is the operation of Finland's passenger rail services with 250 long-distance and 800 commuter rail services every day. With ...

in the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

, in the 1940s most of the railway up to Niirala was ceded by

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in the

Moscow Peace Treaty The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on 12 March 1940, and the ratifications were exchanged on 21 March. It marked the end of the 105-day Winter War, upon which Finland ceded border areas to the Soviet Union. The ...

Moscow Armistice The Moscow Armistice was signed between Finland on one side and the Soviet Union and United Kingdom on the other side on 19 September 1944, ending the Continuation War. The Armistice restored the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, with a number of modi ...

and

Paris Peace Treaty The Paris Peace Treaties () were signed on 10 February 1947 following the end of World War II in 1945. The Paris Peace Conference lasted from 29 July until 15 October 1946. The victorious wartime Allied powers (principally the United Kingdom, ...

as a result of the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

and

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

. Now the track is located in

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...

(

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (; ; ) is the approximately stretch of land situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva. Its northwestern boundary is a line from the Bay of Vyborg to the we ...

Republic of Karelia The Republic of Karelia, or simply Karelia or Karjala (; ) is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the Northwest Russia, northwest of the country. The republic is a part of the Northwestern Federal District, and covers an area of ...

and

North Karelia North Karelia (or ''Northern Karelia'', ; ) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of Kainuu, North Savo, South Savo and South Karelia, as well as Russia's Republic of Karelia. It is the easternmost region of Finland and share ...

. The

–

link across the border was abolished after the Continuation War, but was since restored and is currently in use for cargo traffic.

History

The decision to build a railway from Viipuri to Joensuu was made by the

Diet of Finland The Diet of Finland (Finnish language, Finnish ''Suomen maapäivät'', later ''valtiopäivät''; Swedish language, Swedish ''Finlands Lantdagar''), was the Diet (assembly), legislative assembly of the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1809 to 1906 ...

in 1888. Work on the railroad started in 1890, immediately after the Savonia railroad was finished. The track from Viipuri via Antrea to Vuoksenniska () was completed in November 1892, Antrea to Sortavala () in November 1893, and Sortavala to Joensuu () in October 1894. Six thousand men worked on the railroad at the height of construction in September 1892. A direct link between

and

Finland Station St Petersburg–Finlyandsky (), also known as Finland Station () , is a railway station in St. Petersburg, Russia, handling transport to westerly destinations including Helsinki and Vyborg. The station is most famous for having been the lo ...

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, was opened in 1917, bypassing the

Riihimäki Riihimäki (; ) is a town and municipality in the south of Finland, about north of Helsinki and southeast of Tampere. An important railway junction is located in Riihimäki, since railway tracks from Riihimäki lead to Helsinki, Tampere and La ...

-Petrograd railroad (see Saint Petersburg-Hiitola railroad). The bombing of the

Elisenvaara Elisenvaara (; ) is a settlement in Lakhdenpokhsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, and an important station of the Viipuri-Joensuu railroad. The station is also linked by railway to Savonlinna, Finland. The settlement has an approx ...

station of the Karelian railroad on 20 June 1944, during the final stages of the Continuation War, was the most fatal bombing in Finnish history; over one hundred civilians were killed when bombs hit a train of Karelian evacuees.Vaiettu murhenäytelmä
-

YLE Yleisradio Oy (; ), abbreviated as Yle () (formerly styled in all uppercase until 2012), translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock comp ...

After the Winter War and Continuation War Karelian Isthmus and

Ladoga Karelia Ladoga Karelia (, , , Карельское Приладожье, ''Karelskoje Priladožje'' or Северное Приладожье, ''Severnoje Priladožje'') is a historical region of Karelia, currently largely in Russia. Today, the term refers ...

with Viipuri, Hiitola, Elisenvaara and Sortavala were ceded to the

, and most stations of the line got to the Soviet side of the new border. In the Moscow Peace Treaty on March 12, 1940, Finland lost the section Viipuri–Antrea–Hiitola–Jaakkima–Sortavala–Matkaselkä–Värtsilä () to the Soviet Union. Only the Joensuu–Niirala section () remained in Finland. Later, Finland has built a new railway leading from

Luumäki Luumäki () is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in the Taavetti village. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which ...

on the old

-Saint Petersburg railroad to Onkamo, which lies on the remaining Finnish part of old Viipuri–Joensuu railroad between Niirala and Joensuu. From

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Karelia. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lappeenranta is approximately , while the Lappeenranta sub-r ...

via Simpele to Elisenvaara, there was already a railroad before the war, and in 1947, a track was built from Simpele to

Parikkala Parikkala () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland located in the provinces of Finland, province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia regions of Finland, region, from Lappeenranta and from Joensuu. The town ce ...

connecting this one and the old

Savonlinna Savonlinna (, , ; ) is a town in Finland, located in the eastern interior of the country. It lies in the Finnish Lakeland, the South Savo region. The population of Savonlinna is approximately , while the Savonlinna sub-region, sub-region has a pop ...

-Elisenvaara railroad, which also had been split by the new border. The sections from Luumäki to Lappeenranta and from Parikkala to Onkamo where built on the 1960s.

Branches

* The Vyborg railway station also serves a number of other railroads. * At Antrea a railway to Vuoksenniska branches off from this line. After 1940 and 1944 the Antrea–Enso section () was ceded to Soviet Union. As of 2007, projects are being discussed to construct a freight railway along the northern shore of the

Vuoksi River The Vuoksi (, historically: "Uzerva"; ; ; ) is a river running through the northernmost part of the Karelian Isthmus from Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland to Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia. The river enters Lake Ladoga in three branches ...

linking Kamennogorsk (Antrea) to the Losevo station of the Saint Petersburg–Hiitola railroad in order to ship Russian crude oil to the sea port of

Primorsk Primorsk may refer to: * Primorsk, Leningrad Oblast, a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, formerly Koivisto or Björkö * Primorsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, an urban-type settlement in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, formerly Fischhausen * Primorsk, Krasno ...

bypassing the St. Petersburg–Vyborg line. * At Hiitola (kilometre 93) the Karelian railway merges with the Saint Petersburg-Hiitola railroad. * The

station was linked to

and ultimately

Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),new Karelian railroad in

, on the Finnish side of the border, but the line is closed for traffic and the tracks have been removed in Finnish side to the border. On the Russian side the line from Elisenvaara to Syväoro still exists; and Sorjo station – from Elisenvaara – serves as a local border guard station. *The Simpele–Elisenvaara section () of the Vuoksenniska–

line was lifted after 1944. This section is used as a local road. It had stations and stops at Simpele (km 100), Koitsansalo halt (km 108), Lamminsalo (now Ketrovaara) (km 111), Haapavaara halt (km 114), and Elisenvaara (km 122). Recently, reconstruction and reopening of the Luumäki–Lappeenranta–Imatra–Simpele–Elisenvaara–Sortavala–Matkaselkä–Suoyarvi–Tomitsy section was proposed, including electrification at 25 kV 50 Hz AC and track doubling, to connect Imatra and Petrozavodsk. * There is an -long industrial railroad, completed in 1911, branching off at Lahdenpohja from the Karelian railroad to the shore of

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...

. * In 1921 a railroad linking Matkaselkä (km 215) to Naistenjärvi was built, which was later in turn linked to Pitkäranta,

Kostomuksha Kostomuksha (; ; ; ) is a town in the northwest of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located from the border with Finland, on the shore of Lake Kontoki. Population: Geography The nearest large cities in Russia are St. Petersburg and ...

and

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (, ; Karelian language, Karelian, Veps language, Vepsian and ) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population of the city is 280,890 as of 2022. ...

. * In the Finnish part of the railroad there is a Säkäniemi–

Imatra Imatra is a city in Finland, located in the southeastern interior of the country. Imatra is located in the region of South Karelia, on Saima, Lake Saimaa and the River Vuoksi. The population of Imatra is approximately , while the Imatra sub-regi ...

–

Kouvola Kouvola () is a city in Finland and the administrative capital of Kymenlaakso. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country. The population of Kouvola is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland, and the 17th m ...

connection using the new Karelian railroad along the border.

Proposed project

Upgrading

*Luumäki–Lappeenranta–Imatra–Simpele: Track doubling *Elisenvaara–Sortavala–Matkaselkä–Suoyarvi–Tomitsy: Track doubling and electrification at 25kV 50 Hz AC

New line

*Simpele–Elisenvaara: reopening

Trains

In Russia the railroad is used to ship

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

to the ports of the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

as well as

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

and

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

pellets from

Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...

Passenger trains

Note: Times, as of 2007, are with all stops and are approximate.

References

External links

* * VR 1862–1937, and VR 1862–1962 (official histories) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vyborg-Joensuu Railroad Oktyabrskaya Railway Heritage railways Railway lines in Russia Rail transport in the Republic of Karelia Transport in Leningrad Oblast Rail transport in Leningrad Oblast 5 ft gauge railways in Finland