Southwestern Railways

Southwestern Railways
Південно-Західна залізниця

Subdivisions of Ukrainian Railways
Locale Central Ukraine, North Ukraine
Dates of operation 1870–present
Predecessor Southwestern Railways (Soviet Union)
Track gauge 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in)
Length 4,668 km (2,900 mi)
Headquarters Kiev
Website http://www.swrailway.gov.ua

Southwestern Railways (PZZ), (Ukrainian: Південно-Західна залізниця) headquartered in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, is a component part of the Ukrzaliznytsia company. SWR's route map includes all the railroads in the Kiev, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi and Sumy oblasts (provinces of Ukraine).

As of 2008, SWR's rail system included 4,668 km (2,901 mi) of track, of which 93,3% were electrified. The SWR consists of five sections (directions), the Kyivska, Kozyatynska, Zhmerynska, Korostenska and Konotopska directions. There are 315 railway stations in the SWR system.

History

The first railway to be built in the Ukrainian part of the Russian Empire was a track from Odessa to Balta. It was 213 km (132 mi) in length, and was built in 1865. This railroad connected the agricultural regions of the northern part of today's Odessa Oblast with Odessa, a seaport on the Black Sea coast. In 1870 Kiev was linked with this railroad system by a line from Balta to Kiev. In that year Kiev was also connected to the Russian Empire's railroad system by a track from Kiev to Kursk. The history of the SWR began on 7 June 1870, when the construction of these railroads was launched. The Kiev Passenger Railway Station, the main railway station of the SWR and the Ukrzaliznytsia was also built in that year.

Between 1871 and 1876 lines from Zhmerynka to Volochysk and from Berdychiv to Shepetivka were added, and between 1890 and 1897, the lines from Zhmerynka to Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Kozyatyn to Uman, Khrystynivka to Shpola and Berdychiv to Zhytomyr; 1897 was also the year when the Fastiv Railways were added to the SWR. Volyn Railways were brought into the SWR in 1902, the same year that the line from Kiev to Korosten was built. By the beginning of World War I the total length of the SWR system was 3,096 km (1,924 mi).

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