Changing gauges at the Ukranian border

[CHamilton]

From a Russian friend: this video shows "Russian and Ukrainian stations, and then an exchange at the Ukraine/Romania border [starting at around 1:20]." This is done to change from the Russian gauge of 1520mm to 1435mm standard gauge. The Russian gauge is found in the former USSR, Finland and Mongolia.

He says the process is supposed to take about an hour. Don't think I had ever seen this before, although I knew it existed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRY_CTEn3to

 

[chakk]

I believe Spain had the wide gauge also many years ago (pre-1970s?), but switched to standard gauge for compatibility on international trains with France.

 

[Gemuser]

I believe Spain had the wide gauge also many years ago (pre-1970s?), but switched to standard gauge for compatibility on international trains with France.

Spanish Railways [Portuguese too] are basically built to 5 foot 6 inch gauge. Most [all?] Spanish High Speed Lines have been built to standard gauge.

 

[jis]

I believe Spain had the wide gauge also many years ago (pre-1970s?), but switched to standard gauge for compatibility on international trains with France.

Spain still has Broad Gauge. Only select high speed routes are Standard Gauge. There are other high speed routes that are Broad Gauge too

 

[cirdan]

I believe Spain had the wide gauge also many years ago (pre-1970s?), but switched to standard gauge for compatibility on international trains with France.

There used to be a night express called the Puerta del Sol that ran from Paris to Madrid. Besides different classes of sleeping car, the train had auto carriers so holidaymakers could take their car with them. The entire train changed gauge at the Spanish border at Hendaye, where the cars were jacked up and trucks changed. That train used to feature a 1920s CIWL Pullman car as a restaurant car on the Spanish leg of the journey, still complete with all its art deco furnishings. I think the train was discontinued in the late 1980s. After that all cross-border trains were talgos. Some freight cars still have their trucks changed thouh. Spanish and Portugese railways actually formed a special company to manage cross-border freight using truck swapping or axle swapping cars. This company was called Transfesa. In their heyday, Transfesa handled a lot of fruit and vegetable traffic, some of it actually went to England using the Dunkirk train ferry, and Transfesa had a big vegetable distribution center in London. Most of the agricultural traffic has dried up though due to competition from trucks. Transfesa still handles other traffic though, such as auto parts between Ford's Valencia factory in Spain and their UK plant at Dagenham. Recently Transfesa was bought by Germany's DB Schenker. Most Transfesa traffic these days crosses the border at Portbou / Cerbere.

 

[cirdan]

I believe Spain had the wide gauge also many years ago (pre-1970s?), but switched to standard gauge for compatibility on international trains with France.

Spain still has Broad Gauge. Only select high speed routes are Standard Gauge. There are other high speed routes that are Broad Gauge too

The FGC commuter lines into Barcelona are either standard gauge (those lines starting at Placa Catalunya) or meter gauge (those lines starting at Placa Espanya). Barcelona's metro is a mix of broad and standard gauge (actually only line 1 is broad gauge, the rest standard). Madrid's metro is entirely standard gauge. There are also quite a lot of meter gauge lines all over Spain handling both passengers and freight. Most are concentrated in the North-West but there are others are scattered all over Spain. Some of these are freight-only lines and so do not feature on the passenger maps, which is why the true extent of the meter gauge is often underestimated.