The Chernihiv–Ovruch railway is a partially electrified and partially operational single track railway line that stretches between the town of

Ovruch Ovruch (, ) is a city in Korosten Raion, Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine, first mentioned as Vruchiy in 977. It was the capital city of the Drevlians in the 900s, later conquered by the Mongols in the 13th century, then later part of the Grand D ...

and the city of

Chernihiv Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine ...

, in northern

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, passing through southern

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

and the

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation, also called the 30-Kilometre Zone or simply The Zone, was established shortly after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union. Initially, Soviet authorities declar ...

. The line is owned by Ukrzaliznytsia alone, with railway stations located in Belarus being leased from the

government of Belarus The Government of the Republic of Belarus (), which consists of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus (), is the executive branch of state power in Belarus, and is appointed by the President of Belarus. The head of the Government ...

. A portion of the line between railway stations Vilcha and Semykhody has not been in service since the

Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...

, on 26 April 1986.

History

The line's construction started in 1928, as part of a modernization and development program of

Southwestern Railways Southwestern Railways (PZZ), () headquartered in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, is a component part of the Ukrainian Railways, Ukrzaliznytsia company, its regional branch. It is named "Southwestern" because it is Southwest of Moscow, despite bei ...

(). It was opened for passenger traffic in 1930. Partially abandoned after the

of 1986, it works in its eastern section, between

and Semikhody, a terminus station near

Pripyat Pripyat, also known as Prypiat, is an abandoned industrial city in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, located near the border with Belarus. Named after the nearby river, Pripyat (river), Pripyat, it was founded on 4 February 1970 as the ninth ''atomgrad'' ...

serving the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. This line section was electrified in 1988.

Route

Chernihiv-Slavutych-Pripyat

The line begins at the

central station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

, capital of the

Chernihiv Oblast Chernihiv Oblast (), also referred to as Chernihivshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northern Ukraine. The capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the city of Chernihiv. There are 1,511 sett ...

, located on the

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

Gomel Gomel (, ) or Homyel (, ) is a city in south-eastern Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Gomel Region and Gomel District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it is the List of cities and largest ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

line. After two minor stops within the city, it passes through a few small villages in

Chernihiv Raion Chernihiv Raion () is a raion (district) of Chernihiv Oblast, northern Ukraine. Its administrative centre is the city of Chernihiv. Population: On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the number of raions of Chernihi ...

. At Zhukotky station began a now closed

branch A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins. History and etymology In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includ ...

to Karkhivka and Zhydinychi. after Chernihiv the line reaches

Slavutych Slavutych (, ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, purpose-built for the evacuated personnel of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant after the 1986 disaster that occurred near the city of Pripyat. Geographically located within Chern ...

, a city built in 1986 for the refugees fleeing the

. Its station replaced the pre-existing "Nerafa", demolished to build a larger station for the new city. After the stops in Lisnyi (in

) and Nedanchychi (in

) the line enters

' Oblast of Gomel, passing over the

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

river. The station of Iolcha is the only functioning stop working on the Belarusian part of the line. It serves the villages of Staraya Iolcha, Novaya Iolcha, Krasnoe, and the near town of Kamaryn, all in Brahin Raion. After Iolcha, the line enters in the Polesie State Radioecological Reserve, created to enclose the territory of Belarus most affected by radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident, through three abandoned stations. The first one, Kaporenka, was the interchange point (in , "Peresadochnaya") of an abandoned siding to a decontamination park. The line then reenters Ukraine, joining Vyshhorod Raion, in

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast (, ), also called Kyivshchyna (, ), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special sta ...

, and the

Exclusion Zone An exclusion zone is a geographic area in which specific activities are prohibited by an authority. The United States Department of Defense defines an exclusion zone is a territory where an authority prohibits specific activities in a specific g ...

. After Zymovyshche it passes over the

Pripyat River The Pripyat or Prypiat is a river in Eastern Europe. The river, which is approximately long, flows east through Ukraine, Belarus, and into Ukraine again, before draining into the Dnieper at Kyiv Reservoir. Name etymology Max Vasmer notes in h ...

and past a branch to the new Semikhody terminal station."The Pripyat Railway Bridge"
(Lost Places) Built in 1988, the Semikhody station is a terminus that substitutes Semykhody stop, on the main line, and is the endpoint of the electrification and passenger service. Located in front of the

nuclear plant A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power s ...

, close to the New Safe Confinement, the terminus serves workers and is the only working station in

. Continuing on the main line, it passes the first industrial siding for the Chernobyl Plant and, after the so-called '' Bridge of Death'', a second siding, just before Yaniv, the main station of Pripyat. The industrial line, which runs a loop around the nuclear plant passing between the 4 reactors and next to the

cooling pond A cooling pond is a man-made body of water primarily formed for the purpose of cooling heated water or to store and supply cooling water to a nearby power plant or industrial facility such as a petroleum refinery, pulp and paper mill, chemica ...

, is partially active because it allows goods and materials to be moved around the plant.

Pripyat-Vilcha-Ovruch

Yaniv station, located between Yaniv village and the southern suburb of

, was an important passenger hub before the nuclear accident. It is the nearest station to

Chernobyl Chernobyl, officially called Chornobyl, is a partially abandoned city in Vyshhorod Raion, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. It is located within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, to the north of Kyiv and to the southwest of Gomel in neighbouring Belarus. ...

town, south, and nowadays is a railroad graveyard, with a high number of abandoned trains, making it one of the tourist sights in Pripyat. The station, refurbished in the 2010s, is used by workers of the society "Chornobylservis" () for fixing heavy machinery. After leaving Pripyat, the line continues through a forested area, highly contaminated at several points. It is rarely used by freight trains serving the nuclear plant and passes several villages, such as Buriakivka, known for its large vehicle graveyard full of abandoned radioactive machinery. After Tovstyi Lis the line runs along the border between the "10-km" and "30-km" zones and enters Vyshhorod Raion. It passes through the ghost town of Vilcha, north of Poliske, today one of the checkpoints to the Exclusion Zone. This section of the line is the most decrepit, with the track invaded by

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...

and the

station building A station building, also known as a head house, is the main building of a passenger railway station. It is typically used principally to provide services to passengers. A station building is a component of a station, which can include tracks, ...

s mostly in ruins. Leaving Vilcha, the line enters Narodychi Raion of the

Zhytomyr Oblast Zhytomyr Oblast (), also referred to as Zhytomyrshchyna (), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northwestern Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Zhytomyr. Its population is approximately H ...

and after Radcha, the line reaches Ovruch Raion. It crosses several villages and ends at

station, on the line linking Mazyr to

Korosten Korosten (, ), also historically known as Iskorosten (), is a historic city and a large transport hub in Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine. It is located on the Uzh (Pripyat), Uzh River. Korosten serves as the Capital city, administrative center ...

. The Vilcha-Ovruch section, ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

'' operating but '' de facto'' abandoned, has had no passenger services since 1986. Vilcha station was open until 2013.

Train services

Until 1986, the entire line was served by regional and long-distance trains such as the

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

- Khmelnytskyi express service. Current passenger services include the following trains:

In popular culture

Ovruch station was mentioned in the 1963 book ''

The Truce ''The Truce'' (), titled ''The Reawakening'' in the US, is a book by the Italian author Primo Levi. It is the sequel to ''If This Is a Man'' and describes the author's experiences from the liberation of Auschwitz ( Monowitz), which was a concent ...

'' (), by the Italian writer

Primo Levi Primo Michele Levi (; 31 July 1919 – 11 April 1987) was a Jewish Italian chemist, partisan, Holocaust survivor and writer. He was the author of several books, collections of short stories, essays, poems and one novel. His best-known works i ...

. It was a stop on his roundabout 1945 trip from the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

to his home in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

.''La Tregua''. Einaudi, Turin, 1963 - Yaniv station appears as an accessible location in the 2009 video game '' S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat''.

Gallery

References

External links

Schematic map of the Southwestern Railway
. Southwestern Railway website.
wikimapia.orgRadioactive RailroadLost Places - Chornobyl Zone
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chernihiv Ovruch Railway Tourist attractions in Chernihiv Buildings and structures in Chernihiv Southwestern Railways Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Railway lines opened in 1930 Yaniv-Ovruch Buildings and structures in Chernihiv Oblast Buildings and structures in Gomel region Buildings and structures in Kyiv Oblast Buildings and structures in Zhytomyr Oblast Tourism in Chernihiv