Uzhhorod–Košice broad-gauge track on:
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Article about history of the railway
(in Czech) {{DEFAULTSORT:Uzhhorod - Kosice Broad Gauge Track Railway lines in Slovakia Railway lines in Ukraine Rail freight transport in Ukraine Uzhhorod Railway lines opened in 1966 1520 mm gauge railways in Slovakia 1520 mm gauge railways in Ukraine Transport in Uzhhorod Czechoslovakia–Soviet Union relations
The Uzhhorod
Uzhhorod ( uk, У́жгород, , ; ) is a city and municipality on the river Uzh in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistant from the Baltic, the Adriatic and the ...
– Košice 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 , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...
line is a single-track 1,520-mm-gauge railway mostly in eastern Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
, which is used especially for transporting iron ore from Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
to the steel works
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finis ...
near Košice.
In the 1960s, after construction of the steel works in Košice, imports of iron ore to Slovakia rose steeply, and the checkpoint in Čierna nad Tisou
Čierna nad Tisou ( hu, Tiszacsernyő) is a town and municipality in the Trebišov District in the Košice Region of extreme south-eastern Slovakia, near the Tisa (Tisza) river.
History
The town and municipality is one of the newest in the Koš ...
could not handle this volume, particularly in winter, as Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
and the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
had different gauges and all freight had to be transshipped. It was thus decided to build a Russian gauge line in Czechoslovakia to ease the bottleneck. Construction started on 4 November 1965, and the line opened on 1 May 1966. It was electrified in 1978.
Trains are hauled by two electric twin-unit locomotives, similar to the late versions of PKP's ET40 but with SA3 coupler
SA3 couplers (also known as СА3 or СА-3 couplers per the typical foundry stamp on top of these couplers, meaning "Советская Автосцепка, 3" in Russian or "Soviet Auto-latch 3" in English) or Willison coupler and Russia ...
s instead of buffers and chain couplings, except of westbound between Trebišov
Trebišov ( hu, Tőketerebes; german: Trebischau; russian: Требишев) is a small industrial town in the easternmost part of Slovakia, with a population of around 25,000. The town is an administrative, economic and cultural center with machi ...
and Ruskov where the gradient is over 15 ‰ and two sets of locos are needed. The train weights are up to 4,200 tonnes. This stretch has the heaviest catenary
In physics and geometry, a catenary (, ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field.
The catenary curve has a U-like shape, superfici ...
construction in the EU (2 work cables, 1 fitting cable and 3 additional cables).
This line is for freight only, but there are some diesel motor cars for railway personnel.
Technical parameters
* Length: 88.051 km (8 km in Ukraine). * Gauge: ,Russian gauge
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
* Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
* Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...
.
* Electrification: 3 kV DC overhead.
* Maximum speed: from Uzhhorod to Maťovce , from Maťovce to Haniska pri Košiciach .
* Stations: 2 (Maťovce, Haniska pri Košiciach).
* Crossing loops: 6 (Vojany
Vojany ( hu, Vaján) is a village and municipality in Michalovce District in the Kosice Region of eastern Slovakia.
History
In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1323.
Geography
The village lies at an altitude of 102 metres ...
, Budkovce, Trebišov
Trebišov ( hu, Tőketerebes; german: Trebischau; russian: Требишев) is a small industrial town in the easternmost part of Slovakia, with a population of around 25,000. The town is an administrative, economic and cultural center with machi ...
, Červený Dvor, Slančík, Hornád
Hornád ( Slovak, ) or Hernád ( Hungarian, ) is a river in eastern Slovakia and north-eastern Hungary.
It is a tributary to the river Slaná (Sajo). The source of the Hornád is the eastern slopes of Kráľova hoľa hill, south of Šuňava.
...
).
* Depots: 1 (Haniska pri Košiciach).
Extension
There are plans to extend the line 450 km westwards toVienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
in Austria. An agreement was signed between the railway operators of Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine and Russia in April 2010; they formed a new company, Breitspur Planungsgesellschaft, to develop the railway. In November 2010, the Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radičová announced the Slovak government will not support the project, as it threatens the viability of the Košice area workplaces in the Dobrá bulk terminal, which would be unnecessary after the completion of the project. However, the project passed a feasibility study in December 2010. Construction was planned to start in 2013 and operation in 2016. The cost estimate is €6 bn. It will prove important (if really built) for the transport of containers, between Western Europe and Russia and China.
In May 2021 the Austrian government stated that it has no plans to approve the construction of the extension of the line.
See also
*Čierna nad Tisou railway station
Čierna nad Tisou railway station ( sk, Železničná stanica Čierna nad Tisou) is an important border railway station in the town of Čierna nad Tisou, Košice Region, Slovakia. It is close to the border with Ukraine and, as the railways have t ...
, the break-of-gauge station for most other broad-gauge freight entering Slovakia from Ukraine
* Broad Gauge Metallurgy Line
Broad Gauge Metallurgy Line ( pl, links=no, Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa, LHS) is the longest broad gauge railway line in Poland.
Except for this line and a few very short stretches near border crossings, Poland uses standard gauge. The singl ...
* Košice–Vienna broad-gauge line
References
External links
Article about history of the railway
(in Czech) {{DEFAULTSORT:Uzhhorod - Kosice Broad Gauge Track Railway lines in Slovakia Railway lines in Ukraine Rail freight transport in Ukraine Uzhhorod Railway lines opened in 1966 1520 mm gauge railways in Slovakia 1520 mm gauge railways in Ukraine Transport in Uzhhorod Czechoslovakia–Soviet Union relations