Little incursion into Ukraine Summer '24

[Barciur]

Hello all! As you may or may not know, I have posted some travelogues on this forums years ago. I always had them with a lot of pictures and details, often requiring a large amount of posts so that things load properly. I am returning and I will post two travelogues from my summer trips. This first one will be a short incursion into Ukraine which I have done to test out the new train running between Warsaw and Lviv, with a change of trains on the border, and returning with a more established Intercity+ train. Here is a map of my journey. The light blue is the route of my first trip, and the Intercity+ back to Poland - so both international trains. The brown is a regional rail trip, and the red is my Polish connection from the border town of Przemyśl back to Lublin.

Without further ado, enjoy the armchair journey alongside me as we venture into Ukraine!

We are now at the Lublin main station, with the old departures board showing our train departing to Rava-Russkaia at 23:46

Here's the arriving train. The train is operated by a private company, SKPL, on the contract with Ukrainian Railroads. The staff is Ukrainian, the operator is SKPL on Polish territory. The train is Duwag Wadloper, a Dutch DMU built in the early 80s and now renovated and polonized to run on Polish tracks. You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Düwag_Wadloper

Inside, there is a storage car with no seat reservations, but it has seats on the side that are subway-style. Therefore, some people made their own beds out of them. Otherwise, it stores a lot of suitcases.

It is set up as a regular, open space car with 2+2 configuration, and a table seating of 4 in the middle.

This train only runs to the border, as there is gauge break at the Polish-Ukrainian border. We follow non-electrified single track from Rejowiec to Hrebenne, going at top speed of 40-50 mph along the route.

After about 3.5 hours of clacking along for just 110 miles, we arrive at the border, where first the Polish exit checks take place. You stay in your seat as the border and then customs agents do their work.

You still get stamped, which is about to be phased out in November, as the EU is going to an all-digital entry-exit records system which will no longer stamp. Sad to see the era of stamps go away, but we do live in the digital world nowadays and it is what it is!

Here we are entering Ukraine. This is an exact place of the border.

The Ukrainian border guards will also take our passports, but they will actually take them off the train and walk away with them somewhere....

 

[Barciur]

Upon return of the passport, we discover that a Ukrainian stamp is now made to mimic the EU stamps, probably to try to symbolically show that they are indeed going to try to join the EU when possible.

Arriving in Rava Ruska, we have to change trains. It is a Ukrainian built DMU, which will take us another 1.5 hours for about 60 miles into Lviv. Note how high you have to climb from a low platform. At least this train has a bit of an extra step for that purpose.

One feature that I do enjoy about trains in the east is that they post a time table of the train inside.

Standard open-car seating arrangement in Ukraine is 3+2, due to the wider cars than standard European ones - I believe the width is similar to the American cars.

The seats are pretty comfortable and have decent legroom.

You can watch Paw Patrol on the television screen

After about 1.5 hours, we arrive in Lviv. Here is the view of our train on the platform.

We now have about an hour to grab breakfast and head to the regional train station just a little bit outside of the main one to catch a regional train to get to a local lake, which is a local tourist attraction. Here is the magnificent train station building of Lviv.

The Lviv train station area has been modernized quite a bit, so it resembles western European modern areas, with an intermodal feel to it.

 

[Barciur]

We have made it to the Local train station. Here is a train that goes all the way to Mukachevo, a 5 hour journey on the old Soviet elektrichka...

Definitely would not want to ride in these seats for that long... no AC, either. And it is very hot on the train.

Went to a different car, where the seats seemed modernized.

Some views out of the window...

Old and desolate signs that have seen better days.

We bought tickets on board and to get a roundtrip ticket for 2 people cost exactly 2.20 USD. The distance was about 30 miles.

Arriving at the station we are headed to, note the low level platform with tall entrances. No stools are provided like on the Amtrak!

There is also no underpass or overpass and crossing the tracks like this is the only way that you can get to the other side.

TBC very soon.

 

[Traveller]

Life looks fairly normal in Ukraine, would you agree?

 

[Barciur]

After a day at the local beach, it was time to return

This time, we had a modernized elektrichka, with newer seats and a newer interior.

At the Lviv suburban station, there is a monument which symbolizes 150 years of the Lviv railway. At the time, run by the Austria-Hungarian empire.

At the Lviv main station, there is a little shop with souvenirs. It sells many patriotic and railroad-themed things, such as these shirts. The first train goes to the station "Victory", whereas the next trains on the shirt are all to the currently occupied cities, with the exception of Kherson, which was liberated in 2022 - hence the time as well.

Without change, since 2014, the large map shows all of the connections to Ukrainian territories, including those occupied by Russia since 2014.

 

[Barciur]

The next day, it was time to go back to Poland. We arrived at the Lviv main railway station, ticketed to Przemyśl.

This time, we would be taking an Intercity+ train, from Kyiv to Przemyśl. Those are operated by Hyundai Rotem trainsets, which Ukraine bought for the Euro 2012.

Second class seats are in a 3+2 car. We had first class tickets, which were in 2+2 configuration.

Again, quite comfortable in terms of legroom. There is also a pull out table available.

Last views on Ukraine from the window

On this train, the Ukrainian border control takes place en route from Lviv to the border, which speeds up the process. The Polish control takes place upon getting off the train, inside the customs building. Due to the small size of the building, the Polish services only allow one car at a time to get off the train. So having seats in the first cars is advantageous for quicker processing. Here you can see the view towards the rear of the train, how nobody is getting off as the doors are all closed.

This is the little building and the line forming to it already, despite only allowing 1 or 2 cars at a time off the train.

I end up cheating the system a little bit and skip the line going to the EU passports line with my friend. While I was using an American passport, I am also an EU citizen, so if needed, I could have produced my Polish passport. Nevertheless, I wanted to get a stamp, which would not be possible in an EU passport. Quite possibly the last stamp I will ever receive on entering Europe.

Beautiful Przemyśl train station.

 

[Barciur]

BONUS:
My friend's family live in Ustrzyki Dolne, which is 40 miles south of Przemyśl. Very little train service exists there, so he keeps his car in Przemyśl and drives down when he visits. But there is some service that is run by SKPL on behalf of Polregio (the Polish regional operator) and we went on a little walk to see it. Here is a CD Class 810 that takes a couple people every day to a nearer larger town, where they can transfer onwards. It is resting at night, awaiting its 5am departure.

It is also one of the last places that has running old style semaphores actively used in regular rail traffic.

And I must admit, I am not certain if this switch still works. But by the wiring and the looks of it, it is still an active switch, I think?

And tomorrow I will take you back to Lublin on the Polish railways services

 

[caravanman]

Thanks for a detailed look at train travel between Poland and Ukraine in current times.

Surprisingly to me, given the background situation, things seem fairly relaxed, although the extra careful border control from Ukraine back into Poland might say otherwise?

Nice to see you posting again!

 

[jis]

BONUS:
My friend's family live in Ustrzyki Dolne, which is 40 miles south of Przemyśl. Very little train service exists there, so he keeps his car in Przemyśl and drives down when he visits. But there is some service that is run by SKPL on behalf of Polregio (the Polish regional operator) and we went on a little walk to see it. Here is a CD Class 810 that takes a couple people every day to a nearer larger town, where they can transfer onwards. It is resting at night, awaiting its 5am departure.

It is also one of the last places that has running old style semaphores actively used in regular rail traffic.

And I must admit, I am not certain if this switch still works. But by the wiring and the looks of it, it is still an active switch, I think?

And tomorrow I will take you back to Lublin on the Polish railways services

That device in the last shot is a signal wire tensioner. The weight at the end of the lever keeps the signal wire tensioned at a constant tension which allows the signal to be set reliably. The principle is same as that for constant tension catenary. It absorbs the expansion/contraction of the wire while keeping it at constant tension.

They were very common in India before the semaphore signals and mechanical wires associated with them all disappeared and were replaced by electrical connection to electric Multi Aspect Color Light (MACL) signals.

The switches/points when mechanically controlled remotely are usually thrown using solid rods (usually) and not wires.

Great shots BTW! Thanks.

 

[Barciur]

Surprisingly to me, given the background situation, things seem fairly relaxed, although the extra careful border control from Ukraine back into Poland might say otherwise?

In general, it's been rather relaxed, at least on the surface. When in Lviv, the most telling factor of war was certainly an air raid siren (that is ignored by most everyone, as they happen a few times a week and there has "only" been 3 times missiles actually struck the city the entire war), curfew, which means at midnight streets are mostly empty and darkened, and just less people in a city that's otherwise very touristy.

That device in the last shot is a signal wire tensioner.

Thank you for the detailed information! It's great to get some expert description of something I didn't know about And thanks for the nice comments about the pictures.

Now the last part of the journey, travelling from Przemyśl to Lublin, via an Intercity train and a regional train. Enjoy!

 

[Barciur]

The next early afternoon, we arrive back at Przemyśl. Bought a ticket from the ticket office to have a souvenir, before they disappear and become all etickets like Amtrak...

Many international trains depart from this location. We will be taking the IC 31104 departing at 16:15 to Warszawa Gdańska (and get off at Stalowa Wola).

Part of the train station has been repurposed as a restaurant which looks very nice. It's a nice situation where the historic and beautiful building can serve as both a train station but also as a restaurant. I hope the same can happen in Reading when Amtrak finally returns here.

You can even sit outside and enjoy the views of the train!

The tunnels have information boards leading to platforms.

Here is our intercity train, hauled by PKP Class EP07, which were originally built in the 60's and have been rebuilt in 1995-2003 period. Max speed is 125 km/h for these locos. They are being phased out in favor of newer locos, which mostly can go max 160 km/h or 200 km/h (in some cases).

We see a Ukrainian train sitting on the international platform. It is a consist made up of sleepers that will depart to Odesa later tonight.

A view towards the east (eventually, to Ukraine).

We were able to get an empty compartment. I quite enjoy riding in the compartments as opposed to the open car seats and I lament the fact that they are not as popular any more. However, good to see that they are still around.

In many places, Poland looks like Pennsylvania with the cornfields and farmland everywhere.

 

[Barciur]

At one of the stations, we meet an Impuls train, a Polish EMU in service of the POLREGIO, the Polish regional railway.

Some views from the rear... two track section at the station.

Some station buildings have seen better days.

We arrive at Stalowa Wola Rozwadów, which is a train station near the border of the provinces.

The station has been modernized recently, as well as the station building and it looks really good.

Unfortunately, there are not many connections here. The departures board covers the full 24 hour window... Not an ideal situation.

There is a nice steam engine monument next to the station.

This is a PKP Ty2, which was originally built by Germany and acquired by PKP after the war.

In Poland, provinces are responsible for their own regional transportation, so despite there being a POLREGIO, one company, it is contracted separately by provinces. Thus, here is where a train from Rzeszów (Podkarpackie) will arrive and terminate, and on another platform, a train to Lublin will go. While operated by the same agency, they are paid for by separate provinces and often it is the provinces themselves that own the rolling stock.

 

[Barciur]

Both trains meet at one platform.

I will be taking the train to the right, which is a modernized version of an iconic Polish EMU, the EN57. These were built in the 60s and continued to be built for decades, and they have been modernized to equip AC, newer seats, engine etc.

The inside is very nice and comfortable, with smaller "compartments" inside the car. Makes for a nicer and cozy atmosphere.

Not sure if there is more or less legroom than the Soviet elektrichka in Ukraine, but at least the seats are more comfortable.

There is a decent amount of space for wheelchairs and for bikes as well.

There is also an accessible large bathroom on board. Those were added with the modernization.

A pretty decent passenger information system is on board and visible in every car, letting you know which station is next.

Along the way, not sure what happened, but all of a sudden we hit the brakes in an emergency. When we stopped, I was able to see that there is a grade crossing ahead. I am not sure why and how, but it looks like potentially there were cars or one car on the crossing or very near it. This is what it looked like from the window..

And then, after about 15 minutes of being stopped, we continued. On the other side, I saw this!

No idea what happened and why there were two cars INSIDE the barriers... I guess we were lucky, we could have had a situation which develops in Florida quite a bit, sadly.

The rest of the journey was uneventful. Arrived back in Lublin and this brings the end to the trip, with the view of newly built intermodal Metropolitan Station in Lublin. Thank you for travelling with me, I hope you enjoyed the ride!

 

[caravanman]

Thanks for a great write up, the photo's and the detailed information and explanations make me really feel I was there too!

Is graffiti seen much in Poland, everywhere looks fairly well cared for?

 

[railiner]

Thanks very much for taking us along!
The photos and commentary were excellent!

 

[railiner]

I hope the same can happen in Reading when Amtrak finally returns here.

Outside of an Amtrak Autumn Excursion passing thru a few years ago, Amtrak has never directly served Reading. The last passenger train provider over the Conrail, former Reading Railroad, was SEPTA.
The proposed return of passenger service to Reading would be a new route for Amtrak, if it happens…

 

[Trollopian]

Outside of an Amtrak Autumn Excursion passing thru a few years ago, Amtrak has never directly served Reading. The last passenger train provider over the Conrail, former Reading Railroad, was SEPTA.
The proposed return of passenger service to Reading would be a new route for Amtrak, if it happens…

And even if passenger service returns to Reading, I have few hopes that the station will look like Przemyśl. That photograph is stunning. From Wikipedia: "The station [Przemyśl Główny] was opened in 1860 as part of the Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis and is located about 15 km (9.3 mi) from the border with Ukraine at Medyka-Shehyni. It has standard gauge tracks for connections to the rest of Poland (PKP rail lines 91, 102 and 615), as well as broad gauge tracks for the connection with Ukraine (PKP rail line 92). Hence it serves as an important junction between the railway systems of Poland and Ukraine. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine it has become an important transfer point for refugees leaving Ukraine, with about 500,000 refugees passing through the station in the first month of the war."

Dziękuję ("thank you"), Barciur, for a masterful trip report.

 

[acelafan]

This is an amazing write up - what a journey! I love all the pics, especially street scenes of Lviv. Ukraine is on my list to visit someday.

 

[PeeweeTM]

Thanks for the trip report, and the pictures!

Just a tiny correction, you first train wasn't a former Dutch Wadloper, but a former German BR614 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DB_Class_614?wprov=sfla1.

Please, make more trips and trip reports!

 

[Kervin Weaver]

Outside of an Amtrak Autumn Excursion passing thru a few years ago, Amtrak has never directly served Reading. The last passenger train provider over the Conrail, former Reading Railroad, was SEPTA.
The proposed return of passenger service to Reading would be a new route for Amtrak, if it happens…

When did that Amtrak trip happen and what were the specifics? I've never heard of that one.

 

[jis]

When did that Amtrak trip happen and what were the specifics? I've never heard of that one.

See thus AU thread:

https://www.amtraktrains.com/thread...on-2016-10-29-30-confirmed.69036/#post-682143

 

[Barciur]

Thank you for all the kind words, I am glad to see that there is that much interest and that I was even able to get corrected on some things, you learn something new every day!

Just a tiny correction, you first train wasn't a former Dutch Wadloper, but a former German BR614 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DB_Class_614?wprov=sfla1.

You are absolutely correct on this, my bad! Thanks for pointing it out!

Is graffiti seen much in Poland, everywhere looks fairly well cared for?

I would say it's a bit of a problem, but it gets taken care of. The graffitti will be washed off/paint job redone and there will be a relatively big deal made out of this on the news.

 

[railiner]

See thus AU thread:

https://www.amtraktrains.com/thread...on-2016-10-29-30-confirmed.69036/#post-682143

Hard to believe it’s been 8 years.

 

[BlackDiamond]

Unfortunately, there are not many connections here. The departures board covers the full 24 hour window... Not an ideal situation.

Anywhere in the US outside of the NEC would kill to have this level of connections!

 

[Metra Electric Rider]

It's interesting how quickly Poland regained Central European standards over the past - hard to believe it's that long - 30 years. I was still a teen when the country fell out of the Soviet orbit (and had visited before that a few years). Google mapping various cities most of Poland looks like a wealthy country (except for the area my father was born in - ha!) - of course, they lost the poorest area after the war, Galicia (my father was shocked before the war how poor it was even then. But what made this especially interesting is that he attended school when it was L'vov...