European Railroad Discussion > Overnight train boarding in Mukachevo, Ukraine

There are about 200 overnight trains that were running in Ukraine when I was there in October, 2019.  I don't know how the pandemic has changed this, but hopefully things will normalize again to something resembling the old normal.  

Most of Ukraine is in the east-west plains that extend from Germany to Kazahkstan.  But the southwest corner of the country is in the Carpathian Mountains, with a slice of the Hungarian Plains in the extreme SW.  

The Volovets Pass mainline serves this corner of the country, and of the 200 daily overnight trains, 14 (7 pairs) run through the mountains to Uzhorrod, in the extreme SW corner.  

These trains are all in the 14 to 17 car range, and seemed to be sold out about one day in advance.  Some originated in Kyiv.  One each in Odessa and Lviv, and one each in Kharkiev and somewhere near Donesk, east of Kyiv.  

Whenever one of these trains would roll into a station, things would be pretty busy for about 10 minutes, then it would roll out again.  

The overnight trains, with an equal number of local trains, made this station, and every station along the line, a busy place.  There are a few hour-plus lulls in the schedules, but there are also quite a few freight trains to keep the scene active.  

This is Mukachevo, at the base of the Carpathians on the south side.  A medium-size city with a big train station and engine shops.  I'll be posting a few more photos from here.  

Questions, comments, observations?  

Ted in UT

https://www.google.com/maps/@48.4295352,22.711014,507m/data=!3m1!1e3
https://goo.gl/maps/rBhFFofvyCkg55Ae8
https://www.openrailwaymap.org/?style=standard&lat=48.42974516117435&lon=22.712538242340088&zoom=17



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/21 09:09 by gobbl3gook.

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Thanks for posting this eastern european scene.
ALLEN

krm152 Wrote:
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> Thanks for posting this eastern european scene.
> ALLEN

Just a few months ago I read about plans to introduce a new direct standard-gauge train between Budapest and Mukachevo. Presently, standard gauge ends just before the station (as far as I know).

They also announced plans to extend the standard gauge line all the way to Uzhgorod in 2021 to allow through running there as well. I don't know what the status of that project is though.