Railway system of the Soviet Union explained

See main article: Rail transport in the Soviet Union.

Railroad Name:Soviet Railways
Marks:SZhD, SZD
Locale:Soviet Union
Start Year:1922
End Year:1991
Predecessor Line:RIZhD, JGR
Successor Line:RŽD, UZ, BCh, ADDY, SR, HYU, LG, CFM, EVR, LZD, KTZ, OTY, TZD, KTJ
Electrification:3 kV DC, 25 kV AC, 50 Hz
Length:147400km (91,600miles)
Hq City:Moscow

Soviet Railways (Russian: Советские железные дороги (СЖД)) was the state owned national railway system of the Soviet Union, headquartered in Moscow. The railway started operations in December 1922, shortly after the formation of the Soviet Union. Soviet Railways greatly upgraded and expanded the Russian Imperial Railways to meet the demands of the new country. It operated until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991.[1]

The Soviet Railways were the largest unified railway in the world and the backbone of the Soviet Union's economy. The railway was directly under the control of the Ministry of Railways in the Soviet Union.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Soviet Railways split into fifteen different national railways belonging to the respective countries. After the end of Soviet Railways, however, rail transport in the former Soviet states greatly declined and has not recovered to its former efficiency to this day.[2] By mileage, Russian Railways was the primary successor of Soviet Railways. Newly-independent countries following the breakup, such as those in Central Asia, inherited the Soviet infrastructure.

Successor railways

RailwayNative nameCountry Year started Length (in km)Notes
Armenian RailwaysՀայկական երկաթուղի
Haykakan yerkat’ughi (HYU)
1992–2008845 kmRailway operations and infrastructure taken over by South Caucasus Railway (Հարավկովկասյան երկաթուղի, Haravkovkasyan yerkat’ughi) in 2008, a subsidiary of Russian Railways.
Azerbaijan RailwaysAzərbaycan Dəmir Yolları (ADY)1991 2,932 km
Belarusian RailwayБеларуская чыгунка
Belaruskaya Chygunka (BCh)
19925,490 km
Estonian RailwaysEesti Raudtee (EVR)1992 816 kmTrain operations have since been separated as Elron, Edelaraudtee, Operail and GoRail.
Georgian Railwaysსაქართველოს რკინიგზა
sakartvelos rk'inigza (SR)
1992 1,513 kmIn the de facto independent Abkhazia, the railway has been operated by Abkhaz Railway since 1992.
Kazakhstan RailwaysҚазақстан Темір Жолы
Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ)
199715,000 km
Kyrgyz RailwaysКыргыз Темир Жолу
Kyrgyz Temir Jolu (KTJ)
1992 417 km
Latvian RailwaysLatvijas dzelzceļš (LDz)1992 2,269 kmPassenger operations have since been taken over by the separate company Pasažieru vilciens (PV).
Lithuanian RailwaysLietuvos geležinkeliai (LTG)1991 1,766 km
Moldovan RailwaysCalea Ferată din Moldova (CFM)1992 1,156 kmRailway operations in the de facto independent Transnistria are operated by Transnistrian Railway (Приднестровская железная дорога, Pridnestrovskaya zheleznaya doroga).
Russian RailwaysРоссийские железные дороги
Rossiyskie zheleznye dorogi (RŽD)
199285,281 km
Tajik RailwaysРоӽи оӽани Тоҷикистон
Rohi ohani Toçikiston
1992 616 km
Ukrainian RailwaysУкрзалізниця
Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ)
199122,300 km
Uzbek RailwaysOʻzbekiston Temir Yoʻllari (OTY)19944,669 km

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. http://eng.rzd.ru/isvp/public/rzdeng?STRUCTURE_ID=30#2 Russian Railways
  2. http://eng.rzd.ru/isvp/public/rzdeng?STRUCTURE_ID=30#3 Russian Railways