The

Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...

narrow railway track gauge was , the current track gauge is predominantly . In Soviet Russia, narrow-gauge railways were mostly common in forestry and peat industries in low inhabited places. Usually they have one main line and number of temporary branches. There was commonly a passenger service to villages and towns for workers. As of the mid 2010s, a number of industrial railways survive in places with bad roads, but every year some railways are closing. A government railway operator, RZD, closed all owned common 750 mm railways, but still have a number of

children's railway A children's railway or pioneer railway is an extracurricular educational institution, where children interested in rail transport can learn railway professions. This phenomenon originated in the USSR and was greatly developed in Soviet times. T ...

s with standard rolling stock. The most well-known narrow-gauge railways are Alapayevsk narrow-gauge railway (municipal passenger),

Apsheronsk narrow-gauge railway The Apsheronsk narrow-gauge railway (russian: italic=yes, Апшеронская узкоколейная железная дорога, ''Apsheronskya uzkokoleynaya zheleznaya doroga'') is a mountain narrow-gauge railway located in Krasnodar Kra ...

(mountain industrial railway with passenger service), and Karinskaya narrow-gauge railway (suburban passenger private railway). Also children's railways are located in many big cities. Kp4-469

Overview

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Sakhalin Railway Sakhalin Railway (russian: Сахалинская железная дорога) is one of the railway division under Far Eastern Railway that primarily serves in Sakhalin Island. Due to its island location, the railway becomes the second isolated ...

. This railway was built by

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

who occupied southern

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh ...

after the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

. The network was extended to the northern part of the island in the

Soviet era The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...

. It was the last Russian railway in and underwent conversion to from 2003 to 2019. * Kulebaki Factory Railway is located in

Kulebaki Kulebaki (russian: Кулеба́ки) is a town in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Nizhny Novgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 35,759. History The village of K ...

750mm

* Alapayevsk narrow-gauge railway is located in the Sverdlovsk Oblast,

Alapayevsk Alapayevsk (russian: Алапа́евск) is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Neyva and Alapaikha rivers. Population: 44,263 ( 2002 census); 50,060 ( 1989 census); 49,000 (1968). History Alapayevsk is ...

. *

Altsevo peat railway The Altsevo peat railway is located in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia. The peat railway was opened in 1962, and has a total length of and a track gauge of . Current status The Altsevo peat railway was constructed in 1962 in the Tonshayevsky D ...

is located in

Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (russian: link=no, Нижегородская область, ''Nizhegorodskaya oblast''), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localiti ...

, closed in 2015. *

the largest mountain railway in Russia. *

Belorucheiskaya narrow-gauge railway The Belorucheiskaya narrow-gauge railway is located in Vologda Oblast, Russia. The forest railway was opened in 1922, has a total length of and is operational . The track gauge is and operates year-round. Current status The Belorucheiskaya n ...

is located in

Vologda Oblast Vologda Oblast ( rus, Вологодская область, p=vəlɐˈɡotskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, r=Vologodskaya oblast, ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is Vologda. The Oblast has a population of 1,202,444 ...

. * Dymnoye peat railway is located in Kirov Oblast. *

Gladkoye narrow-gauge railway The Gladkoye peat railway (''russian: link=no, Узкоколейная железная дорога торфопредприятия «Гладкое»'') is located in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. The peat railway was opened in 1970, and has a tot ...

is located in

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, although it was not until 194 ...

. *

Gorokhovskoye peat railway The Gorokhovskoye peat railway is located in Kirov Oblast, Russia. The peat railway was opened in 1960, and has a total length of which is currently operational; the track gauge is . Current status Gorokhovskoye peat railway emerged in the 1 ...

is located in Kirov Oblast. *

Gusevskoye peat railway The Gusevskoye peat railway is located in Vladimir Oblast, Russia. The peat railway was opened in 1920, and has a total length of which is currently operational; the track gauge is . History Gusevskoye peat railway emerged in the 1920s, in the ...

is located in

Vladimir Oblast Vladimir Oblast (russian: Влади́мирская о́бласть, ''Vladimirskaya oblast'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its closest border 66 Meter, km east of central Moscow, the administrative cen ...

. * Kerzhenets peat railway is located in

, closed in 2014. *

Kobrinskaya narrow-gauge railway The Kobrinskaya narrow-gauge railway is located in Kirov Oblast, Russia. The forest railway was opened in 1946, has a total length of and is operational as of 2014, the track gauge is and operates year-round. Current status The Kobrinskaya ...

is located in Kirov Oblast. *

Konetsgorskaya narrow-gauge railway The Konetsgorskaya narrow-gauge railway is located in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. The forest railway was opened in 1942, has a total length of and is operational . The track gauge is and operates year-round. Current status The Konetsgorskaya ...

is located in

Arkhangelsk Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast (russian: Арха́нгельская о́бласть, ''Arkhangelskaya oblast'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic Ocean, Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land ...

, closed in 2018. *

Kudemskaya narrow-gauge railway The Kudemskaya narrow-gauge railway is located in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. The narrow-gauge railway, a former forest railway, was opened in 1949 and has a total length of , of which is currently operational. The track gauge is . The head off ...

has appeared in Forbes.ru ranking one of the 10 most beautiful railway lines of the world in the year 2010. * Kushaverskoye peat railway is located in

Novgorod Oblast Novgorod Oblast (russian: Новгоро́дская о́бласть, ''Novgorodskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, including ...

. * Laryan narrow-gauge railway is located in

. *

Loyginskaya narrow-gauge railway The Loyginskaya narrow-gauge railway is located in Arkhangelsk Oblast and Vologda Oblast, Russia. The forest railway was opened in 1947, and its current operational total length is . The railway is a narrow-gauge railway and it operates year-ro ...

is located in

. *

Lundanskaya narrow gauge railway The Lundanskaya narrow gauge railway'' (''russian: link=no, Лунданская узкоколейная железная дорога, Lundanskaya uzkokoleynaya zheleznaya doroga'') is a narrow-gauge railway in Kirov Oblast, Russia, built as an ...

is located in Kirov Oblast. * Mesherskoye peat railway is located in

Ryazan Oblast Ryazan Oblast ( rus, Рязанская область, r=Ryazanskaya oblast, p=rʲɪˈzanskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Ryazan, which is the oblast's largest city. Geo ...

. * Mokeiha-Zybinskoe peat railway is located in

Yaroslavl Oblast Yaroslavl Oblast (russian: Яросла́вская о́бласть, ''Yaroslavskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), which is located in the Central Federal District, surrounded by Tver, Moscow, Ivanovo, Vladimir, Kostr ...

, closed in 2016. *

Narrow-gauge railway of Decor-1 factory The Decor-1 factory railway is in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia. The railway was opened in 1946, and has a total length of its track gauge is . The railway is used for the transportation of gypsum from the mine to the «Dekor-1» factory. ...

, is located in the

. * Narrow-gauge railway of Caprolactam factory, is located in the Dzerzhinsk, closed in 2013. * Narrow-gauge railway of KSM-2 factory, is located in the

Tver Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population: Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...

, closed in 2020. *

Nyubskaya narrow-gauge railway The Nyubskaya narrow-gauge railway is located in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. The forest railway was opened in 1934, has a total length of and is operational as of 2015. The track gauge is and operates year-round. Current status The Nyubskay ...

is located in

. * Pereslavl Railway Museum is located in

. * Pelgorskoye peat railway is located in

. * Pishchalskoye peat railway is located in Kirov Oblast. *

Pizhemskaya narrow gauge railway The Pizhemskaya narrow gauge railway (''russian: link=no, Пижменская узкоколейная железная дорога, Pizhemskaya uzkokoleynaya zheleznaya doroga'') is a narrow-gauge railway in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, bu ...

, is located in the

. * Ronga narrow gauge railway, is located in the

Mari El The Mari El Republic (russian: Респу́блика Мари́й Эл, ''Respublika Mariy El''; Meadow Mari: ; Hill Mari: ) is a republic of Russia. It is in the European Russia region of the country, along the northern bank of the Volga Rive ...

, closed in 2020. *

Oparinskaya narrow-gauge railway The Oparinskaya narrow-gauge railway is a narrow-gauge railway in Kirov Oblast, Russia, built as an industrial railway (forest railway) for logging operations. The forest railway was opened in 1952, has a total length of and is operational as of ...

is located in Kirov Oblast, closed in 2020. * Otvorskoye peat railway is located in Kirov Oblast, closed in 2020. *

Sharya Forest Museum Railway The Sharya Forest Museum Railway (''russian: link=no, Узкоколейная железная дорога Шарьинского музея леса'') is a -gauge forest railway based at open-air Sharya Forest Museum located in Sharya, open ...

is located in

Kostroma Oblast Kostroma Oblast (russian: Костромска́я о́бласть, ''Kostromskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Kostroma and its population as of the 2021 Census is 580,97 ...

. *

Solotchinskoye peat railway The Solotchinskoye peat railway is located in Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The peat railway was opened in 2010, has a total length of and is currently operational. The track gauge is . Current status Solotchinskoye peat railway emerged in the 1950s ...

is located in

. * Tumskaja–Golowanowa Datscha railway line, closed in 2008, part of the

Gorky Railway The Gorky Railway (Горьковская железная дорога) is a subsidiary of the Russian Railways headquartered in Nizhny Novgorod (formerly known as Gorky, hence the name). The railway network serves nine federal subjects of the R ...

* Tyosovo peat railway is located in

. *

Udimskaya narrow-gauge railway The Udimskaya narrow-gauge railway is located in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. The forest railway was opened in 1938 and currently operates year-round. The track gauge is and the railway has a total length of . Current status The Udimskay ...

is located in

. * Zelennikovskaya narrow-gauge railway is located in

, closed in 2018.

Resource

* This site contains material of Russian narrow-gauge railways
uzd.spb
* A complete list of Russian and other ex-Soviet
narrow.parovoz.com
* «The site of the railroad» S. Bolashenko

* Pereslavl Railway Museum
www.kukushka.ru

References

{{Europe in topic, Narrow-gauge railways in Narrow gauge railways in Russia Railway lines in Russia

Overview

1067mm

750mm

See also

Resource

References