1245i

INTERNATIONAL SUPPLEMENT TO BLN 1245 14 NOVEMBER 2015

BRANCH LINE NEWS

INTERNATIONAL

This newsletter covers the World outside the British Isles from information
supplied by members.

Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Compilers or of the Society.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS TEAM:-
International Editor (to whom all email and postal contributions should be sent):
Paul Griffin, 7 School Bell Mews, Church Lane, Stoneleigh, COVENTRY, CV8 3ZZ
Email: [email protected]
Deputy International Editor: Derek Woodward, 68 Church Street, Matlock, DERBY, DE4 3BY

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Today’s Pelion Railway is the remaining part of the 600mm gauge line running east from Volos along the slopes of Mount Pelion. Near the end of
the line at Mileai is De Chiricos’s bridge where the line crosses a deep ravine on a curving steel girder bridge (the design originates from the need to
avoid the use of piers). The curving track on a straight bridge can clearly be seen. The locomotive is actually a Schoma diesel, disguised to resemble a
steam locomotive.

EUROPE

[407] Estonia – Some notes from a recent visit
Koidula to Piusa: Tucked away in the extreme south east corner of Estonia, Koidula station until 2011 was
actually in Russia creating all sorts of practical difficulties finally resolved by the building of a new
alignment that veers away right from the old alignment which can now only be identified by the line

turning quickly and the telltale line of trees veering away left which used to parallel the old line. The new
Koidula station is a very smart but isolated facility surrounded by security fencing which also encompasses
some freight facilities. The actual settlement of Koidula appears to have been left behind in Russia! Koidula
is normally the terminus of the two trains a day that connect into/out of Tallinn services at Tartu, but
between 01 May – 27 September, once a day the unit reverses and continues approximately 6 Km along
the otherwise freight only line towards Valka to the first halt at Piusa. There is no settlement of note here
but a mostly open air exposition of Quartz Sand mining operations that actually ceased around 2003 with
open cast operations that now provide unusual habitats for various flora and fauna. There is also a forest
walk where one can take in reindeer lichen, various berry bushes and old zig-zag German entrenchments,
where they awaited the advance of the Red Army in 1944.
For 5 euro you can take in a film about the sand mine caverns which are all man-made since 1920 and
whose creation predated the open cast operations. In these were narrow gauge electric railways that
carried the sand down to the main line but apart from one picture of a man standing on what appears to
be a battery electric locomotive and an old tippler truck in the museum there was no further information
and none could be solicited from the guide who was a student from Tallinn here for the summer who
spoke impeccable English. It was deduced they spend much more time telling people about hibernating
moths than old railway operations.
Riisipere: This is the end of one of the three electric lines running west out of Tallinn. The line beyond to
Haapsulu closed in 2004 and has been turned into a 53km long cycle and ski way (depending on the season
presumably). There is a sign extolling the spiritual and health benefits of using this and encouraging one to
"leave the track at will and enjoy the comfortable nature".... standing there one wondered how long it
might be before the inhabitants of Haapsulu decide they should campaign for a restored rail link to enjoy
this from the comfort of a train! Notable on this branch (particularly in a country of immaculate permanent
way) was the continued existence of what would in UK parlance be 30ft track panels which after the
serene continuous welded rail feel like a wash board. The only other place these were noted was on the
Viljandi branch and the lack of freight with its heavy axles loads to either location might at least in part
explain this survival. On a practical note, if here during a typical 2-3 hour layover there is a diner on the
main road only 15 minutes walk from the station, turn right at the end of the station approach as
otherwise there is not much else!

[408] Finland - A Railway Touring Company tour (Part 1)
A member has written in with an account of a Railway Touring Company steam tour in Finland in July this
year. The day after arrival by air in Helsinki they travelled by the restored 1912 motor ship “J.L.RUNEBERG”
from Helsinki, Linnanlaituri Quay to Porvoo. This vessel was steam powered until the 1960s, when diesel
propulsion was installed, without altering the ship’s classical appearance, with tall funnel. Intermediate
calls were made at Pirttisaari and Haikko, while progress up the Porvoo River, into Porvoo, was amid
scenery strongly reminiscent of the Norfolk Broads. Time did not allow investigation of Porvoo’s railhead
(no regular passenger services these days, it seems), before being whisked off to their hotel in Kouvola by
bus.
The next day class Hr1 4-6-2 No.1009 and its rake of wooden-bodied coaches awaited, and would provide
the traction and stock for most of the tour. The route this day was Kouvola – Lahti- Riihimäki- Hyvinkää –
Karjaa – Hanko and return the same way as far as Hyvinkää, The Hyvinkää – Karjaa section is freight only,
and a longish photo/loco servicing and water stop took place outward at Lohja/Lojo, where it seemed half
the town turned out to watch. At Hanko/Hangö, complicated shunting operations took place due to an
inconveniently placed points failure, which at one stage enabled those on the train (including our member)
to be shunted beyond the passenger station and into the beginning of the port area sidings. The port
seems to be the source or destination of healthy level of freight traffic by rail. Back at Hyvinkää, their
destination for the night, they terminated at the closed platform behind Suomen Rautatie Museo-Finland’s
National Railway Museum, which they would visit on the final day of the tour.

The sixth of July saw the group travel by bus from the hotel in Hyvinkää direct to Jokioinen, present
terminus of Finland’s oldest heritage railway operation. – The Jokioisten Rautatie, a 75 cm gauge line
which currently runs from Jokioinen to connect with the VR main line at Humppila, with workshops and
locoshed at Minkiö, about halfway. Originally the line went beyond Jokioinen to terminate at the small
town of Forrsa, and an extension in that direction is contemplated, but it was said that a removed bridge
over a river would make reaching Forssa itself ‘impossible’. The train awaited and was an 0-6-0T built in
1901 by H K Porter (USA), works No. 2313, restored as No. 1 of the Äänekosken–Suolahden Rautatie, a
defunct line. They rattled off to Minkiö for a locoshed and works visit, and an alfresco barbecue lunch.
There was also an engine change, with progress onwards to Humppila being powered by Jokioisten
Rautatie No. 5 ORION 2-6-2T, built by Tubize (Belgium) works No.2369 and formerly located closer to
home on Y Rheilfford Trallwng at Llanfair Caereinion. Indeed, our member first saw it at Llanfair Caereinion
on 5 May 1984, but never managed it for haulage in Cymru. Indeed the W&LL Lt.Ry didn’t make much use
of it – evidently its long boiler presented problems with keeping the firebox crown safely covered with
water while ascending or descending one side of Golfa’s 1 in 29 gradient. No such gradient challenges for it
on the Jokioisten Rautatie. Incidentally, among the useable locos in Minkiö shed yard was 2-8-0 No. 6 of
the Loviisa-Wesijärvi Rautatie, another former 75cm gauge line, subsequently converted to 1524mm
gauge, but later closed to passengers. (Spelling used on the tender was Lovisa, evidently the Swedish
rendering of Loviisa. As Sweden was the former colonial power in Finland between c. 1150 and 1809, the
subject of language is still a touchy issue. Where our member quotes bilingual forms of names as displayed
on stations, it is Finnish first, Swedish second, if shown on the station at all. Finnish belongs to the Finno-
Ugric branch of the Uralo-Altaic family of languages, and is close to Estonian and Hungarian, and so is not
Scandinavian). On arrival at Humppila, they changed from the Jokioisten Rautatie, back to the main line, VR
(Valtion Rautatiet, meaning State Railways), where 1009 and the empty coaches had arrived from
Hyvinkää. They then had a fairly short onward run with 1009, first to Toijala for a locoshed/museum visit,
then continuing down the freight only branch to Valkeakoski. Most of the locos in museum-depot were
diesels, but newly restored class Tv1 2-8-0 no. 933 was in steam for them. It had been hoped to have it for
haulage, but final official certification for its use would not be completed for about another week, so all
they could do was look and photograph it. On arrival at Valkeakoski, a short bus ride took them to the
hotel. A 1950s local timetable on display at Toijala museum indicated this branch line then had quite a
respectable branch train service roughly every 1½ hours. No passenger trains today serve the station’s
substantial wooden building, but freight traffic looked healthy – much of it timber traffic, as everywhere
else in Finland.

[409] France - Ligne des Chausses visited
Reported in BLNI 1242.359: A sign tells people arriving at Clermont Ferrand station that the present
building is to be replaced in 2016; perhaps the relatively small lifts between platform and subway lifts will
be replaced with accommodation suitable for backpackers and aging tourists. There is no food or drink on
the Béziers and Nîmes trains, so a visit to the station shops and eateries is a good idea. The 13:01 service
to Béziers on Saturday 5 September, train number 15941 “CORAIL INTERCITÉ” (sic!) got off the mark
punctually, being moderately busy in at least one of the two X73000 DMUs; while there was traffic at most
stations, this tended to be in twos and threes at most. Departing southwards, the electric railway is left
behind within a minute or so, and the double track line passes briefly through a suburban industrialised
area; a few locations have sidings, but none that would appear to have had traffic in recent times. The
countryside becomes rural, but increasingly with rocky walls alongside the line – there are many stretches
with metal frameworks which would appear to offer questionable protection against rockfall; there are
also some decrepit wooden panels. The first stop is at Issoire, where a dock platform on the east side held
a DMU for a Clermont Ferrand local service. Two stops further on is Arvant – a small station with a more or
less empty yard on the east side – where the line splits, with the Ligne Cévenol curving away to the right,

both being single track from this point. At Massiac-Blesle, in a public garden adjacent to the north east end
of the station, is a green-painted water column (see picture below).

After increasingly mountainous terrain,
Neussargues is reached, and an electrified
line converges from the north east. This
was the busiest station, with quite a
number of people about the four-
platformed station (only three with track,
the third from the east missing; one track
of four removed was observed at a
number of stations further south); there
were two DMUs there besides train 15941,
which latter changed ends and departed
up the steeply rising electrified single track
line observed on the way in; the line south
from the station goes to Aurillac. The
overhead electrification is for the most
part supported by the “whalebone” style
curved masts which loop above the train.
Next is St. Flour-Chaudes-Aigues, where the town sits on a mountain hundreds of feet above the station
(rather like Dent in reverse) and then, 20 minutes further on, is the raison d’ être of your bridge fan
(pontophile?) correspondent’s trip, with the countryside opening out to the crossing of the River Truyère
by M. Eiffel’s splendid Garabit viaduct; speed low enough to allow plenty of gawping at the view (see
picture below).
At the bleak St. Chély-d’Apcher
there were some hopper wagons on
the east side. Beyond Aumont-
Aubrac, it looked as if the trackbed
was wide enough for double track –
but as this was partly occupied by
the whalebone masts, does this
mean that the line was singled to
accommodate the overhead
equipment? The position of the line
on some hillsides would have made
double line electrification difficult.
Marvejols has sidings but, as on the
line generally, there was little
evidence of freight traffic. At
stations from here on there was
plenty of the French equivalent of
bullhead track. Approaching Millau,
four stations on, the line twists down the hillside, dropping very steeply into the Tarn gorge; leaving Millau,
the other great bridge of the journey appears, remaining within view for at least five minutes as the line
passes under and beyond it. Though this might have been perceived as an evening peak service, there was
very little traffic at Millau and the three stations over the next 27 minutes journey alongside the Tarn. A
further three stations on, now out in open country for the first time, was Bédarieux, four-platformed and
an overall roof. Here was an EMU, and a suburban feel; nevertheless, the single line continued as
opportunity for a gallop returned, eventually rejoining double track with the main line east of Béziers,

where arrival was one minute early. With just over an hour until the Carcassonne connection, the small
(but perfectly formed) Trip Advisor-researched pizza restaurant/takeaway (“Dolce Vita Chez J’petto”)
across the main road from the east end of the station was visited – inexpensive and definitely
recommended.
(Courtesy of the SNCF Society - Sadly the omens for the line do not look good, although the catenary
remains energised the daily ‘ Aubrac’ formed of one or two X73500 units is the only regular train north of
Millau. Although the contract to carry steel coils from St Chèly to Clermont Ferrand has been renewed it
remains to be seen if the line will survive after the forthcoming elections)
[410] France – Region Lorraine plans
After two years of reflection, consultations, and negotiations Region Lorraine has published the proposed
timings for the TER network. Only final approval by SNCF remains. The changes will take effect in two
stages in 2016. The first phase is scheduled for April, together with the commissioning of the second
section of the LGV Est, between Baudrecourt and Vendenheim (a suburb of Strasbourg). The second, which
will mark the end of the deployment, is scheduled for September. Of most interest to members will be the
four trains each way between Longuyon and Thionville which will return trains to the curve between
Hayange and Thionville.
[411] France – Relaying of track continues to Canfranc
Over the summer contractors have been relaying the 25km of track between Oloron and Bedous on the
former cross-Pyrennian route from Pau to Canfranc at a cost of €112 million. Twelve bridges have been re-
decked and six road crossings closed. Passenger trains should be re-introduced between Pau and Bedous in
June 2016. Local pressure group CRELOC are seeking re-opening of the line to Canfranc by 2020. Item and
photo courtesy of SNCF Society.

Locomotives and wagons at the base depot at Oloron Sainte Marie

[412] France - Reopening of Chartres-Voves line moving forward
Between March and September of this year some 18km of track has been renewed, 13 level crossings
removed and 8 modernised. Progress has been good enough that on 21 September a special train ran over
the line, from which elected officials were able to view the works so far. More work has to be done –
especially in the Voves area – but commissioning appears to be on schedule for late 2015 to early 2016.
Passenger trains should start running Chartres – Voves – Tours in 2016.

[413] France/Belgium - Getting to the Sud Ardennes Explorer and afterwards Part 2
After the excellent Challerange outing your correspondents intended plans had been thwarted by Reims
area engineering works cancelling the only connections to where he hoped to go, so after much effort a
plan was concocted to visit all three of the well documented with various degrees of poor
service/maintained branches in Brittany instead! Swift TGV’s and a packed cross Paris Metro journey had
him arriving 798km away in Brest at 23:45 the same night! With the first branch train to Roscoff on a
Sunday not arriving there until 11:29, even a 10:18 departure from Brest only gave time to do one of the
three prongs of the new tramway as it starts relatively late on a 20 minute frequency. One plan had been
worked out doing three and a part branch that day but this relied on punctual TGV’s for short journeys
between junction stations (plus one way on the branch to Lannion!). Paying “normal” pay on the day cash
fares meant this was expected to be a costly affair but no doubt due to adverse comments from locals in
the same situation, these compulsory local TGV Reservations are just €1.60 extra. Well loaded double
bubble railcars left Morlaix at 11:00, when unexpectedly and it has to be said very annoyingly, a barrage of
commentary commenced. This is normal on a French heritage line, but this was SNCF! The guide was
literally shouting down the cab PA system pointing out insignificant items such as fields of Artichokes. This
required fingers in ears each time she spoke, totally ruining this in-part scenic line traversal. Track
condition on this 28km line is fair with a steady speed and as even the return service was busy, it may have
a secure future. Lannion has a through TGV service to Paris and over 150 got off the 13:25 arrival from
Paris on a Sunday lunchtime, so this too was considered to be safe. Next was the 16:31 to Carhaix from
Guingamp where pre-trip research discovered the visit was well timed as the complete branch service is
bus substituted from 1 September to 13 November! This is actually good news for the branch as it is for
partial track replacement. The colour of the ballast reveals that one section has already been done. In
saying that, there was negligible patronage up or down the branch, but Carhaix is a reasonable sized town
with a hinterland requiring a bus depot at the station with over 30 vehicles.
Research beforehand had discovered that, rather fortuitously, the visit would coincide with a running
weekend on the CFCB preserved line to Loudéac. The majority of the line had actually been travelled by
our member before but since then CFCB had received permission from SNCF to run into St Brieuc station
so an on-line booking had been made for just the 7km from St Brieuc to St Julian. Two days before the visit
a text had been received referring to an e-mail advising that due to maintenance requirements for the
railcar, would our member mind returning on the ECS train to St Brieuc? As this avoided a lengthy walk
back this offer was rapidly accepted!! On meeting the arriving unit at St Brieuc off its inbound service, its
only passengers were two IBSE members who had also been on the BLS Challerange trip and the train crew
were astonished that they knew each other. Needless to say your correspondent was the only passenger
on this 19:05 departure to Plaintel and return, the train needing to go one stop beyond St Julian to clear an
automated level crossing. So one gap in track coverage cleared with grateful thanks to the Chemins de Fer
du Centre Bretagne for still running the service for one €10 fare…….
Back to Guingamp now for the anticipated SNCF highlight of the trip the next morning. This was the
Paimpol branch, considered a ‘must do’ after all the recent comments on track condition forcing 20kmh
speed limits with a possibility of closure, although there have subsequently been announcements that
money has been found for repairs. Anyway your correspondent was the only passenger throughout on the
06:40 from Guingamp on Monday 10 August, pleasingly worked by x2144, a 1982 built railcar. Track
condition is really poor in parts at the moment, bringing back memories of travelling long gone East

German lines as all of this 30km branch taking 1h 8m was never quicker than a trundle and in many parts a
stagger. Oh and the next service that day was at 12:00 and this line is exceedingly scenic from Pontrieux to
Paimpol when dropping down a wide estuary to the coast. The final part of the plan before flying home
was the line from Lamballe via Dinan to Dol which is worked as two branches from either end, with Dinan
to Dol allegedly on the threatened list and particular care needed for through journey possibilities. The
branch service at its west end actually starts from St Brieuc, so to avoid a 3½ hour gap on the main line
from Guingamp to St Brieuc which would also have just a 10 minute connection off a TGV into the 13:18
departure to Dinan, details of buses from Paimpol to St Brieuc had been located. All worked as planned, so
once on the branch in one half full single bubble railcar it sped along, but unfortunately the track is still
short length rails so it was constantly swaying from side to side making for quite an unpleasant journey. A
14:12 arrival at Dinan connected into a 14:35 to Dol and despite there being a second railcar at Dinan, the
original one worked through. Track condition was the same on this part except for a short initial section
involving two lengthy and high bridges, so some recent money has been spent on the line and if anything
this eastern section was busier than the western section.
Finally on heading to Dinard Airport which has no public transport access, two buses can be caught from St
Malo station to its nearest village with some railway related interest. The first Route 16 bus terminates at
the road in front of the old Dinard SNCF station which has been totally obliterated and is now just open
ground, and then the walk from the Route 7 stop (bus towards Rennes) in Pleurtuit is along the trackbed,
now a cyclepath, of the old Dinard – Dinan railway from the old station to the Airport approach road,
about a 40 minute walk in total.

[414] Germany - Notes from the IBSE Telegramm
Baden-Württemberg - Line 9486 from Korntal to Weissach saw passenger services lost to Weissach at the
end of September 2015 when the workshop of the WEG was closed. Trains will terminate at
Heimerdingen in future (Hemmingen at the moment due to engineering works which end mid-2016).
Hessen - Just south of Eichenberg on the line to Bebra is the 935 metre long Bebenroth tunnel. A new
single track tunnel has now been opened and all trains will pass through this while the old two track tunnel
is rehabilitated. Reconstruction of the platforms at Bebra has eliminated some platforms, and brought
others back into use.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern - For funicular fanatics, there is a publicly accessible funicular in Mölln serving
a ‘senior’ residence called the "Augustinum" with attached hotel, cinema, theatre and swimming pool on a
small hill on Hegesee. The funicular takes passengers at a speed of 2.5 m/s over a 115 metre track with a
gradient of 16% and has been in operation since 2001. Apparently there is a direct bus to "Augustinum"
from the railway station, or walk 2.3km.
Situated in a lagoon south of the coastal town of Zingst is the small island of Kirr where there is a little
known 600 mm gauge railway approximately 400 metres long built in the early 1970s. Presumably it
serves the few cottages near the pier.
Sachsen-Anhalt - The troubled Klostermansfeld – Wippra line is having bridge repair works carried out, so,
together with secured funding until the end of 2016, the future looks somewhat brighter.

[415] Germany/Netherlands - Upgrading of Heerlen - Aachen cross-border link starts
Work started on 22 August on upgrading the cross-border rail link between Heerlen, Netherlands and
Aachen, Germany. This follows an agreement between the Dutch province of Limburg, the Dutch Ministry
of Infrastructure Works and German local transport authorities to improve cross-border rail transport
between Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. The project includes the entire renewal of the
superstructure on the Dutch section between Landgraaf and the German border. When this has been
completed along with signalling modifications, the line speed will increase from 80km/h to 110km/h.
Meanwhile technical design to electrify the line is underway in preparation for an invitation to tender.

Electrification is estimated to cost €15m and will be carried out in 2017. It is hoped to complete
electrification on the German section in mid-2018.

[416] Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria - Europe Trip Part 2 – 30 May to 6 June Part 4
This was effectively our member’s final day, as his flight home left Budapest at 06.30 the following
morning. An early morning 20 minute walk brought him back to Tezno, where he caught the one train of
the day to cover the Maribor avoiding curve, a well filled 2 car DMU. After a quick change at Studenci (the
physical connection for the avoider is west of Tabor station), he took a train back into the main station at
Maribor, from where he started his long and winding route back to Budapest. The first train taken was one
that was booked to use the Pragersko avoider on its way to Ormož. He'd already discovered that this
service would be bustituted for part of its journey, but what he hadn't spotted was that it was also
diverted to call at Pragersko, apparently to provide a connection off a northbound service during the
period of the current disruption, but ironically not a single passenger took advantage of this.
The result of this diversion was a 15 minute late arrival at the wayside station of Moskanji, where our
member alighted from the train as the remainder of the journey was by bus, due to on-going electrification
work that could be seen as they meandered their way to Ormož via all the intermediate stations.
Amazingly they only lost a further 5 minutes, thanks to some brisk driving on very narrow roads!
Our member had been assured that onward connections would be maintained, and that proved to be the
case as a two car SZ DMU was duly joined at Ormož to cover the third and final minor cross-border line of
the trip between Croatia and Slovenia. On this occasion no change of train was required as the SZ unit ran
through to Čakovec. The passport checks were very brief on both sides of the border as our member was
the only passenger travelling through. The 20 minute late arrival at Čakovec wasn’t a problem because he
had a 75 minute wait for his next service. Fortunately there was an excellent little café in the station to
while away the time. A brief journey to Varaždin, on one of the new HZ DMU’s that are gradually replacing
the hauled services on this line, was followed by a leisurely cross country journey to Koprivnica. The final
border crossing of the trip, to Gyékényes in Hungary, was made on an extremely crowded Zagreb to
Budapest service. The reason that it was so busy was that the train had arrived at Koprivnica with just two
coaches and, after a short delay, the passengers in the rear coach were moved forward and that coach was
then detached, it was assumed because of a mechanical defect. Fortunately our member had chosen to
join the front coach and had managed to get a seat, in amongst all the Japanese and North American
backpackers, but getting off at Balatonszentgyörgy was a bit of a challenge as, even though domestic
coaches had been added at Gyékényes, nobody in the coach seemed to be aware of this.
After a short trip to Keszthely, a late lunch was taken in a rustic café outside the station, before moving on
to Tapolca for the service around the north side of Lake Balaton. The train, made up of two railcars and
two trailers, was very busy from the start and, it being a Friday afternoon, became even busier with large
parties of holidaymakers joining at some of the larger resorts, and a number of people were left behind
along the way. On arrival in the temporary platforms in the yard at Székesfehérvár, most passengers
changed into the stopping service to Budapest Deli, so the express service, when it arrived, wasn’t as busy
as expected. Alighting at Kelenföld, our member changed onto the new Metro line 4, before making his
way out to his hotel near the airport for his early flight home the following morning.
This was an ambitious trip, by our member’s standards, but virtually everything worked as planned, other
than missing the Pragersko avoider, and the weather was hot (sometimes too hot) and dry throughout. It
was his first visit to Bulgaria, and hopefully it won’t be his last, although preferably not overland next time!

[417] Italy – Section of Ferrovie del Gargano closes
First mentioned in a visit report in BLNI1203.072 and further in BLNI 1207.156, 20 September saw the
closure of the scenic but sparsely populated 29.7km section between San Severo and San Nicandro
Garganico. Trains now run from San Severo on the new cut-off to Apricena Cittá for a bus to San Nicandro
Garganico and onward travel to Peschici-Calanella. The new cut-off will continue (through a 3178 metre

tunnel) to San Nicandro Garganico at some point in the future to join the now isolated section of the
railway. This being Italy, no-one is predicting exactly when!

[418] Latvia – The Retro tram at Riga
The very existence of this service was only made known by accident whilst walking past one of the ornate
Retro Tram signs and noting a timetable below. The tram is a 1980s rebuild of a 1909 style Riga tram (first
generation electric trams replacing horse trams) and it operates on SSuO (plus public holidays) from about
09:00 to 17:00 (see www.rigassatiksme.lv/en/services/retro-tram for details). It is notable for covering two
curves not normally used by the regular tram routes which are actually very close together, the N-E curve
linking Aspazijks Bulvaris to Kr. Barona (which it traverses both ways) and the single curve (essentially
clockwise) linking Kr. Barona to the single track loop at Radio Iela. The fare is 2 euro for a trip taking well
over an hour although the rare track element takes slightly less!

[419] Poland - Local trains to cease on two lines
Due to low passenger numbers two lines will lose their local passenger services from 12 December.
322 Kępno – Wieluń – [Herby Nowe] (39km). Note that PKP-IC provisionally plan to run one train pair over
the line next year, but this will be summer only, and overnight. If they run…..
113 Tomaszów Mazowiecki – Drzewica – [Radom] (36km). It is only the 10km section from podg Zapowiedz
via Radzice to Drzewica that will lose all services as PKP-IC have a number of trains between Łódź and
Katowice/Kraków which use 26km of this line to access the CMK as shown in table 114.

[420] Romania – Recent reopenings
In recent months CFR have resumed services on a number of lines vacated by previous operator
Regiotrans. These are Golești – Câmpulung – Parcul Krețulescu, Alexandria – Zimnicea, Caracal – Corabia,
Târgoviște – Pietroșița, Timișoara Nord – Jimbolia, Târgu Neamț – Pașcani, Sighișoara – Odorhei and
Remetea Mică – Timişoara Nord. From 1 November two train pairs per day commenced between Pitești
and Curtea de Argeș.

[421] Switzerland/Germany – short cross border curve to reopen
Swiss media report that from the December 2015 timetable change five rush hour train pairs will run St.
Gallen – Kreuzlingen Hafen – Konstanz, thereby reopening to passenger trains the curve between
Kreuzlingen Hafen and Konstanz which crosses the Swiss/German frontier. It closed to passenger trains on
18 October 1987.

[422] Turkey (European) – Local services start again in Thrace
According to the TCDD website, local services in European Turkey started again from 20 October.
The service pattern will be:
81721 07:10 Kapikule – Cerkezkoy, a. 09:56, 81724 19:18 Cerkezkoy – Kapikule a. 22:07
81726 11:10 Cerkezkoy – Uzunkopru a.13:24, 81725 14:45 Uzunkopru – Cerkezkoy a. 16:55

REST OF THE WORLD

[423] Canada – New alignment under construction in Montreal
A major realignment is currently under construction in the Montreal suburb of St Henri. It diverts the CN
(plus VIA passenger) line to Toronto through the site of the former Turcot freight yard to eliminate
crossings and allow for higher speeds. Apart from a brief mention in Canadian Rail Observations details are
non-existent online, but with the help of Google Earth our informant estimates 2.59 miles of new track,
with the distance 0.02 miles less than the existing line.

[424] Japan - Railways recover from Typhoon Etau
The remaining closed sections of Kanto Railway’s Joso Line which were badly damaged by floods induced
by rain from Typhoon #18 "Etau" on 10 September reopened on 10 October. No through trains are
running. The line is currently divided at Mitsukaido and Shimotsuma; all services shuttle between Toride -
Mitsukaido, Mitsukaido - Shimotsuma or Shimotsuma - Shimodate. North of Mistukaido the number of
runs is 30% of normal level.
The Tobu Utsunomiya Line reopened on 7 October. A bridge which had been lost on 9 September has been
replaced with a temporary structure. Tobu plans to complete a permanent bridge by next Spring. Service is
at normal levels and trains are running at full strength.

[425] USA – SunRail News
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has announced a $93.4 million federal grant agreement to extend
SunRail commuter-rail service 17.2 miles from southern Orlando to Osceola County, Florida. This is the
second phase of a larger project first mentioned in BLNI 1211.234. The extension Phase II South
commuter-rail line extension will run from south of Orlando through Kissimmee to Poinciana in Osceola
County. SunRail estimates the extension will provide 2,000 daily linked trips when it opens in 2019. The
project will include four new commuter-rail stations; the purchase of two locomotives and four passenger
cars; and the construction of a vehicle storage and maintenance facility.
SunRail has also received approval from the US Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for the construction of
a 5.5-mile commuter rail link to Orlando International Airport (OIA). The new east-west rail link will
connect the airport to the north-south running commuter rail system, which started operating last year.

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RAILTOURS AND DIVERSIONS OVER NON-PASSENGER LINES

This is provided as a service to members and details must be checked with the organisers.

Poland - Railtour to Sobótka
40km freight branch on offer on 12 December 2015: Wrocław Gł. (depart about 9:20) - Kobierzyce -
Sobótka - Sobótka Zach. - Wrocław Gł. (about 17:00). Price 70 zł before 27 November and 100 zł from 28
November. Contact Maciej Szewczyk e-mail:[email protected]

BLNI – Poland Extra November 2015

[A85] Poland - Deviations and new curves
Between Rzeszów and Tarnów a fairly small deviation has been built east of Będziemyśl and a more
significant one further west, which smoothes off a curve. The latter is approx. 1140 m long and is a
maximum of about 120 metres from the old line.
A much more substantial project is a new alignment west of Dębica, involving a new two span bridge over
the river Wisłoka. This is shown on Wikimapia but not on Google maps satellite photos.

At Sucha Beskidza a new pair of points and a very short widening of the embankment mark what will
obviously be the north junction of the new avoiding line. Clearly a number of small huts/chalets and their
associated small plots of land will be cleared away to make room for the line, which will require a new
bridge over the river Stryszawka.
[A86] Poland - Visit to Piaseczno narrow gauge railway
A visit was made to the Piaseczno to Tarczyn heritage railway on one of the summer Sunday running days.
To get to this our member took a Koleje Mazowieckie service from Warszawa Srodmieście to Piaseczno,
which is on the line to Radom. Taking the platform overbridge and turning right outside the station took
him quickly to the main road from where, turning left, the metre gauge tracks can be followed to Piaseczno
Miasto station, about 10-15 minutes walk away. Loco Lxd2-465 (completely anonymous with no number to
be seen anywhere on it), was shunting the coaches for the train out of the shed one at a time, partly
because they are split between several roads in the shed and partly because the headshunt is not very
long. Five journeys were required, so it was a busy time. Meanwhile our member queued with several
others outside the ticket office, which duly sold him a return ticket for 25 zloty – less than £5. A quick visit
to the adjacent depot found little in there, but two withdrawn and down at heel Lxd2 locos in the sidings.

Lxd2-465 awaits departure from Piaseczno Miasto station

Departure was delayed awaiting a large party arriving by coach. The train is shown as stopping at several
places, but not, on the outward journey, Piaseczno Wiadukt, which is by the road bridge near the station,
presumably because they would rather sell tickets at the Miasto ticket office rather than on the train. In
fact no stops were made until Tarczyn. Initially the tracks are on a slight embankment by the side of the
main road, then down the middle of a street, but reserved running. Finally the railway emerges from the
suburbs and becomes a more country railway, though development is never far away. There are areas of
woodland, of which more anon. At Tarczyn the train terminates and everyone gets off to watch it run
round.

The old station at Tarczyn briefly becomes very busy as the loco runs round the stock

The old station building is still present, and so is a small water tower. Everyone gets on again, and the train
returns towards Piaseczno for ten minutes before stopping in a forest glade in an area called Runów. There
is a refreshment stall, a raging bonfire (to cook your own food) and picnic tables. The wooden goods car on
the train is opened and more tables, chairs and things for the kiddies (mainly balls) are unloaded. The train
will spend the next three and a half hours here before returning to Piaseczno. This was not to our members
taste, so foregoing the pleasures of the campfire he set off down the very straight track in blistering
sunshine to attempt an earlier return. Forty minutes walk saw him reach a parallel road with a bar selling
beer, and bus stops complete with timetables. A woman was waiting at the stop for Piaseczno on the other
side of the road and a few minutes later the 727 bus duly arrived. Our member was defeated by the ticket
machine and the driver wasn’t selling tickets, so he simply stayed on board and got off 8km later opposite
the PKP station. Just over an hour had elapsed since leaving Runów, and a train back to Warszawa
appeared twenty minutes later, so much time had been saved. Whilst waiting the platform overbridge was
crossed and the tracks of a short NG branch located, now largely overgrown, but obviously once affording
direct running to join the railway towards Tarczyn after a hundred metres or so. The track was clearly
visible at that end from the train as it passed.
The present line is 15km long and the remnant of a much more extensive system covering 71km, with
several branches. In 2015, trains ran every Sunday from 22 March until 27 October, and on 1, 2, 16 and 30
May, 4 June, 15 August, 11 November, 5, 6 and 31 December.
More at: http://www.narrowrail.net/piaseczno/

[A87] Poland – Kraków airport branch visited, and more new track than was thought
A member had a return ride from Kraków Główny to Kraków Airport. As reported elsewhere the line has
been extensively modernised and electrified with double track except for a short section at the junction.
However reports of the line having been ‘extended’ to be nearer the terminal are inaccurate.
It is a new deviation that has been constructed starting from just beyond the E40 road bridge to bring the
line to a new island platform station parallel to the terminal buildings. For those who have flown to Kraków
before, the new station is behind the multi storey car park which is across the road from the terminal
building. There is an enclosed access to/from the terminal by a bridge from first floor level through the car
park and down to the platform by a moving walkway. You can also enter/exit the station at ground level by
the buffer stops which face the road down to the old station. Trains tend to stop half way down the
platform because of the location of the moving walkway. Only the track nearer the terminal seemed to be
used regularly. Trains tend to cross on the branch at Kraków Olszanica and wait at the airport for about 25
minutes. Trains from Kraków Główny, after leaving Kraków Łobzów, take an existing chord up to the Line
95 flyover over the Katowice main line to run parallel to the main line on the most southerly double then
single track(s) up to the airport line junction. Trains to Kraków Główny do not take the flyover but descend
to Kraków Łobzów using a newly-built chord. All three new intermediate stations have side platforms. The
first - Kraków Młynówow - is prior to a new bridge across Ul. Balice replacing a previous level crossing. The
rest of the line is at ground level thus necessitating a level crossing across the fairly busy road Na Lotnisko
outside the airport on the new section. Just after Kraków Olszanica a connection to an industrial line has
been retained using a double reversal and an exchange siding. Prior to the new deviation the line to the
former station is still connected going off straight ahead with what looks like a new parallel trailing siding
immediately after the junction. Our member had time to wander down to the location of the old station
which unsurprisingly has been removed. There are two derailers set back either side of the level crossing
there although road works in the area has resulted in lumps of tarmac on the crossing making it impossible
at the moment to pass any trains across it. Even road traffic have to take this crossing very slowly.

[A88] Poland - Possible new line to connect Kraków with Nowy Sącz and Zakopane
July brought an announcement that a route has been approved for plans to develop a new rail link
between Kraków, Zakopane and Nowy Sącz, though a final decision on route sub-options to be adopted
will not be made until the end of the year. However in the recently published draft National Programme
for Rail 2023, almost all railway investments in southern Poland were on the reserve list, so intense
political lobbying and collection of petitions is now going on to get the project promoted. The selected
routing involves the construction of over 58 km of track, 11 tunnels and seven flyovers. Trains on the new
route would travel at speeds of 160 km per hour apart from the area of Tymbark station. The earliest work
could start would be 2020. The new railway would start east of Kraków at Podłęże then head south
through difficult terrain requiring expensive engineering works, to Szczyrzyc where the line would divide at
a new triangular junction. One branch would go SW to join the existing little used line between Chabówka
and Nowy Sącz, passing through Mszana Dolna to reach Chabówka and run over existing metals to
Zakopane. The other branch would go SE to join the Chabówka and Nowy Sącz line at Piekielko, but this
time passing through Limanowa to reach the major town of Nowy Sącz on the Tarnów to Krynica (and also
to Slovakia) railway. At present rail passengers between Kraków and Nowy Sącz have to travel via Tarnów,
an ‘L’ shaped journey much longer than the direct bus routes between the two cities. The new line would
reduce the journey time by a factor of three. The project will require extensive use of the Chabówka to
Nowy Sącz railway, so there is extensive modernisation planned with renovation of 75km of track. EU
money would be available.

[A89] Poland – Timetable 115 reopens as a through route
From 13 December a new TLK runs from Warszawa to Przemyśl via Skarzysko-Kamienna (12 min stop) and
will be the only train over the Ostrowiec-Swietokrzyski to Sandomierz section of line 115 which is currently
without a passenger service. Southbound TLK13105 departs Warszawa Zachodnia daily at 14:16 arriving

Przemyśl at 22:16, northbound TLK31104 departs daily except Sat(!) Przemyśl at 14:24 arriving Warszawa
Zachodnia at 22:04. There is no published alternative balancing northbound working for Saturdays.

[A90] Poland – snippets from a recent visit
Malbork - Grudziądz – Torun. This line is mostly in quite good condition. Traffic was better than our
member expected, even to a freight being present at Kwidzyn on Saturday with the loco looking as though
it was running round. However, there are severe speed restrictions at several places between Kwidzyn and
Grudziądz. Our member felt that the underlying formation was not in a good state, and not merely the
track.
Warszawa Wileńska – Warszawa Zielonka. A good reason for there being no trains between Warsaw and
Małkinia at present is that the line to Warszawa Rembertów has been completely lifted as far as one can
see round the curve at Zielonka. The underlying formation has been graded and track and ballast laid on
the 'down' line, but nothing as yet on the 'up' line. A new Peron 1 has been built alongside the 'down' loop
line but is not yet in use. He wonders if this means the layout is to be changed. Two possibilities occur to
him: firstly that the main lines will be realigned to run between the island platform and the new Peron 1 or
secondly, that the present 'down' line will become a centre road enabling traffic towards Warszawa
Rembertów to be held clear of other traffic if it conflicts with a train from Warszawa Wileńska.

[A91] Poland - Bytom tram curiosity to disappear
A unique tramway curiosity in Poland is likely to be eliminated as a tender has been announced to upgrade
what is currently route 38 in Bytom. This currently runs as a 1.3km shuttle between 5 stops from Kosciol
sw. Trojcy to Stroszek Zajezdnia with a start and end of service link to the main network. It runs every 20
minutes but as the single track has no loops and ends in the middle of the street outside a derelict depot it
can only be operated by a single tram driveable from each end. It is today worked by a 1949 built Konstal
N-type single axle, four wheel car, complete with wooden seats and hand-operated doors which are
unsurprisingly the last of their type still used in daily scheduled operation. The line was built in 1913 with
the last complete renovation in the 1980's. It is suggested that the whole line will be doubled, but as there
is no mention of a new turning circle, modern double ended vehicles will then be used for the new through
services onto the branch. Thought would also have to be given to remodelling the junction for services
leaving the line as presently there is only an inbound facing connection off the clockwise loop around the
town centre loop. The evening depot working currently reverses in service at the junction! At present the
connection of around 0.3km is only uses by an advertised working to/from Stroszek Zajezdnia Depot
departing Bytom Plac Sikorskiego at 05:28 SSuX, 09:28 SSuO or from Bytom Kosciol sw. Trojcy at 19:34
SSuX 18:34 SSuO.

[A92] Poland - Gdansk area observations
A member recently caught the 08:44 Gdańsk Główny - Kartuzy which which used Peron 2 at Gdańsk
Wrzeszcz and the flyover. The return working, which was also through to Gdańsk Główny, used the west
side of Peron 1.
There are 6 morning and 1 mid-evening through services from Gdańsk Główny to Kartuzy, all booked to
use Peron 2 at Gdańsk Wrzeszcz and so, it is assumed, the flyover. However, according to the
arrival/departure sheet there are also a handful of services from/to the airport line that are timetabled to
use Peron 2 to reverse. He expects these to use the flyover - probably in both directions.
In the current timetable there are also short workings Gdańsk Wrzeszcz - Gdańsk Rebiechowo and v.v.
These disappear in the 2015/2016 pdf for this route but the vast majority of services are shown as
extended to/from Gdynia Główna.
Incidentally the 2015/2016 pdf currently shows only one return working using between Somonino and
Kartuzy. They are the 14:56 Gdynia Główna - Kartuzy and 19:32 Kartuzy - Gdynia Główna, both M-F.

[A93] Poland/Czech Republic - New cross-border services between Poland and the Czech Republic
Silesian Railways and Czech Railways (ČD) have signed a joint agreement to reopen some cross-border
services between the Czech Republic and southern Poland. From 12 December, Silesian Railways will
extend services that currently terminate at Chałupki and Wodzisław Śląski to Bohumin, in the Czech
Republic. The new connection to Bohumín will open up opportunities for passengers in the region with
easier links to cities such as Praha, Brno, Pardubice and Olomouc. In return, ČD will extend its Frydek-
Mistek-Ostrava-Český Těšín services to Cieszyn.

[A94] Poland - Some notes about lines around Wałbrzych as travelled on the Czerski tour
Wałbrzych is located in the southwest of Poland near the Czech border and was once an important coal
mining centre with associated heavy industry. The coal mines are almost all gone, but a glassworks and a

large china tableware manufacturing
plant are still in operation today.
Although most of Poland is depressingly
flat, this is not true of the Wałbrzych
area which is located in the Sudeten
mountains. The area was visited by a
Czerski railtour, the Dolnośląskie
Zakamarki 2, on 18 October. This started
from Legnica at the unsocial hour of
05:40 and was patronised by eight Brits,
all BLS members. A reversal was needed
at Jaworzyna Śląska, then the Wrocław –
Wałbrzych – Jelenia Góra mainline was
taken south, dawn gradually revealing
the increasingly hilly nature of the
terrain. Wałbrzych extends north to
south down a valley and is served by
several stations. Indeed the southern
end of the valley is so filled by development that the railway has to take to the slopes to the west and
follow a winding and circuitous course to emerge at the southern end of the conurbation at the main
station of Wałbrzych Główny where four lines come together. Wałbrzych Główny (W-ch Gl. on the map)
station has been rebuilt since the communist era and the old station building has been restored. The
station can be avoided by lines to the north of the extensive yards by the station.
The Czerski tour now proceeded west past the yards, observing former line 291 trail in right through an
overgrown cutting. This once provided an alternative route to the Wałbrzych to Wrocław line which it
joined at Wałbrzych Szczawienko. It was electrified in 1914, but the Soviets removed the electrification
after 1945 as war reparations. It closed to freight in 1970 and was finally closed and lifted in 1996. Only a
short branch remains at the Wałbrzych Szczawienko end. Shortly after the southern end is passed there is
a junction and the tour took the line for Mieroszów (the southern part of line 291, also previously
electrified) which promptly rises and crosses over the Jelenia Góra line before proceeding south to pass
through Mieroszów and cross the Polish/Czech border to reach Meziměsti in the Czech Republic after
slightly less than 2km. Reaching Meziměsti was very pleasing for most of the Brits on the tour as the line
closed to passenger trains on 31 March 2004, and in recent years the line has only been open for part of
one day a week. Luckily, engineering work on another cross border line had seen freights re-routed via the
Mieroszów line for a three month period, so the line was fully open, and the railtour timed to take
advantage of this opportunity.
Returning to Wałbrzych Główny, the tour reversed again and set off for Jelenia Góra as far as the rebuilt
station of Boguszów Gorce Zachód, where, after a short wait, the tour diverged southeast onto the 1.5km

branch to Czarny Bór, where a quarry providing aggregates continues to provide traffic, evidenced by
loaded wagons and a big double electric loco in the sidings. The PKP limit was about 500 metres short of
the end of the line.
Back to Wałbrzych Główny again to reverse and proceed further west towards Jelenia Góra, passing
through Sędzisław where the cross-border line to Trutnov goes south. This has had a summer passenger
service since 5 July 2008. At Marciszów the train pulled into the northernmost platforms. Once line 302
from Malczyce and Strzegom trailed in here, but little of this line remains in use and nothing at this end.
However line 312 to Jerzmanice Zdroj has part of the northern end remaining open, and a 14.5km stretch
at the southern end. It was the latter that the tour was now to traverse. The line passes through a rural
landscape eventually ending at Wojcieszów Górny station where there is an aggregate loading facility for a
nearby quarry. As the tour returned to Wałbrzych Główny thoughts were now turning to lunch. An advance
email had allowed a hot lunch to be booked, and once paid for on the train a coupon was issued. The food
was waiting at Wałbrzych Główny, and a rugby scrum ensued as a train load of people gathered around
two large cardboard boxes and the harassed looking lady handing out trays of food in exchange for
coupons. Still, the chicken, potatoes and salad was very nice. The final line leading out of Wałbrzych
Główny is the finest – indeed in the author’s estimation the scenically finest in Poland. This is the 51km
long line which runs south east to Kłodzko. Built as single track, it was between doubled between 1908 and
1913 (which required second bores on the tunnel sections), then (apart from one section), singled again. It
was never electrified, and serves relatively few population centres, so in recent years has had two periods
of closure to passenger trains from 31 March 2006 to 31 March 2007 and 09 December 2007 to 05 January
2009, though it is currently open again. The hilly terrain required five impressive viaducts, 45 bridges and 3
tunnels of 1168, 377 and 1605 metre lengths.

Viaduct on the Wałbrzych to Kłodzko railway

There were 13 stations and two coal mines on the line, the latter long closed. Line 285 went from Jedlina-
Zdrój to Świdnica. Most of the track is still present and maintained by the voluntary association
Stowarzyszenie Sowiogórskie Bractwo Kolejowe, who have occasional draisine rides, including, each year
since 2003, a draisine riding contest called the ‘push-pull party’. A final curiosity before resuming the
narrative was present at Głuszyca Górna, where the Mały Atlas shows an industrial narrow gauge line

ascending the mountainside to the east in an amazing series of switchbacks. Research has failed to find any
details of this, so if anyone has any information the author would be pleased to hear.
The Czerski tour proceeded through the major town on the line at Nowa Ruda, to Ścinawka Średnia, an
important junction station where five lines once converged and also an international frontier station where
Prussian and Austro-Hungarian customs officials had separate rooms in the station building. The town was
in Germany until after WW2. The station was important enough to have a small roundhouse and water
tower, still extant, and there was traffic to a brick factory, sawmill and coal fired power plants.
In fact there were two station buildings close together but serving different lines. The larger of the two was
on the Wałbrzych to Kłodzko line and just before the station is reached (from the Wałbrzych direction) line
272 trailed in from the north west. This ran from Ścinawka Średnia to Tłumaczów Dolny and then into what
is now the Czech Republic to Otovice and Broumov to reach Meziměsti. The line is open as far as
Tłumaczów Dolny (about 5km) to serve a quarry from which aggregates are loaded, and this line was later
traversed by the Czerski tour to the buffer stops.
The small station (Mały Dworzec) at Ścinawka Średnia served line 327. This originated near the Czech
border close to Radków and headed east to Ścinawka Średnia before flying over the Wałbrzych to Kłodzko
line south east of the station, and proceeding to Nowa Ruda Słupiec , Wolibórz, Srebrna Góra Miasto and
Dzierzoniow Slaski. The line north of Wolibórz closed in 1931, and from Wolibórz to Dzikowiec Kłodzki in
1972. From Ścinawka Średnia to Radków lasted until May 1987 and was lifted in September 1999. That left
Ścinawka Średnia – Nowa Ruda Słupiec - Dzikowiec Kłodzki open, serving two coal mines and a quarry.
Closure of the Dzikowiec Kłodzki mine saw the line cut back further towards Nowa Ruda Słupiec. Today the
line continues past Nowa Ruda Słupiec to serve the quarry, yet another aggregate source.

The Ścinawka Średnia track plan shows that a double reversal via the small station (Mały Dworzec, building
4 on the plan) is needed to access the 5km line to Nowa Ruda Słupiec, where the tour stopped at the old
station before returning to Ścinawka Średnia and commencing the journey back to Legnica, though many
left the train at Jaworzyna Śląska for a connection to Wrocław. All in all an excellent tour, delivering
everything advertised and running reasonably to time.

[A95] Poland – New station in Łódź gets first train and (maybe) an opening date
Until 2011 most trains from Warszawa to Łódź went from Łódź Widzew to the terminus station of Łódź
Fabryczna. Since then the first stage of a project to create a new through station has been underway,
though heavily delayed now.

This involved rebuilding the present line from Łódź Widzew to the site of the old Fabryczna station, which
has now been demolished, along with most of the surrounding area. A tunnel has been constructed so that
trains will enter the new Fabryczna station 16 metres below ground level. The first train, conveying VIPs,
ran 28 October to a point about 500 metres short of the new platforms and in the absence of
electrification, a diesel loco provided the traction. It seems services from Warszawa to Łódź Fabryczna may
start again in August 2016. The next phase is to let tenders for the tunnel extension to Łódź Kaliska and
this is expected in the first half of 2016. Meanwhile the above ground part of the new Łódź Fabryczna
station is getting closer to completion, as seen in the picture below.

[A96] Poland/Ukraine - Reinstated service Lviv – Przemyśl
PKP are negotiating with UZ (Ukrainian Railways) to reintroduce a daily train pair between Lviv (Ukraine)
and Przemyśl (Poland), possibly in Spring 2016. This will make use of the Russian gauge lines across the
border between Mostys'ka 2 and Medyka PKP, last used for scheduled services in 2007. These use a
different alignment than the standard gauge line.

[A97] Poland - Monorail for Rzeszow?
Rzeszow is studying options for its public transport strategy, and is sufficiently taken by the possibility of a
monorail that it is applying for funding from the demonstrator program. Don’t hold your breath – most
schemes of this type originate in the school of porcine aviation.

[A98] Poland – Olsztyn trams
Testing of the new Olsztyn tram system should begin in November with opening to passenger use on 15
December. Trams last ran in the city almost exactly fifty years ago, so a guide has been issued to allow
motor vehicle drivers unaccustomed to trams to learn something of ‘tram etiquette’ prior to services
commencing.