SOVIET RAILWAY SYSTEM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000500800220-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 1, 2003
• Sequence Number: 220
• Publication Date: March 3, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2005/08/17 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000500800220-6
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
SUBJECT Soviet Railway System
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I. General
1. The total present length of the railway system of the Soviet Union is
123,000 km. Of this, 33,000 Ian (26.,8 percent) are double tracked;
22,000 km 16 percent) are provided with a.utomatic block signal systems;
45,000 km (36.5 percent) are new style heavy construction. About 40 per-
cent of the total mileage is of 11L;tit construction; (rails under 3 , k,_- cr
meter, without specially prepared roadbed or else not replaced for
time) .
The track gauge is 1.524 peters, in contrast to the standard European
1.436 meters.
3. The rails are preponderantly old and worn out. The maintenance of the
tracks and rolling stock varies and in part is inadequate.
it. The distances between stations vary between 8 and 30 km.
5. The main lines connecting the Soviet Union with other European countries
and those connecting the large industrial centers hove i.:':lcrn equipment
(block and signal systems). Changes in the direction of modernisation
have been planned and are under way on the lines connectiniv the la.r~;er
Eiberia.n industrial centers. The ordinary lines ? the i miatic USSR,
especially Turkestan, Central Siberia. and the For are not yet very
efficient.
rho concurrence 01 ~ ? a ? .uccw
. . Fbo to iardao office tbmu 4 the Asa uant.Diroetw of Cho OJf1G; 01 C;ViLctfon wd'Dlwndnat~am. CLL.
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6. The prevalence of generally level country makes possible the use of
locomotives of limited capacity for long and heavy trains. Since the
light roadbed construction permits only low speeds (Lverago 19 km per
hour), the attempt is Wade to offset this disadvantage by the use of
heaver trains (up tj 2,000 tons).
(. The electrification of t nc railways is pushes] and latciy, especially
n chc Moscow and Leningrad aveir and tho no:-,' 1-no rt;a:'it irouztrial dis-
co c t s (,Donbas , Ural, Ausbar, ' taDand in the r untainous regions of the
Caucasus.
11. Administrative Organization
l;urma.nsk, Archangel, Pechora (Kotlas-Vorkuta), Leningrad, Ottobre
(Leningrad-Moscow line), Kalinin, Estonia, Litau.
The Ministry of Transportation is responsible for,.the operation, maintenance
and development of the railway lines. Th~gt~(tts$ort Equipment Construction
Ministry is responsible for construa~es$cn and maintenance of the rolling stock.
The railway system i.s divided:''dd inistratively into ten railway zones, and
the zones are subd~Akd1Aa into numerous administrative districts.
a.. :darthea~t=?7t'mrda"(headquarters Leningrad) comprises the districts of-Kirov-
b. East Zone (headquerters Minsk). Districts: Lithuania, Yalingrad (ex-
Konigsberg), White Russia, Brost-Litovsk.
fiyazan, Moscow 'Ktrskf Flosaow-Dantias (Valuiki), Moscow-Kiev, Moscow (Outer
d. Central ZorieheadquartersMosaow.t. Districts: Yaroslav, Gorki, Moson-
vov; Odessa, Kishinev.
c. Southeast Zone (headquarters.Kiev_). Districts: Kiev, Vinnitza, Koval,
i. Middle East Zone (headquarters Tashkent). Districts: Turkestan-Siberia,
Tushkent, Ashkhabad.
Ryazan-Ural (Saratov).
h. Ural-Siberian Zone`('heeadquarters Sverdlovsk). Districts: Perm-Molotov,
Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk-South Ural, Tomsk, Karaganda.
e. Donets Zone"(headquarters?Kharkov). Districts:-Donets North,. Donets South,
Icha.rkov,.Voronezh- Likhaya, Stalingrad, Lower Dnieper. and Crimea (Stalino).
f. Caucasus tone (hoadquertero Kro.sn a.r). Districts: North Caucasus,.
Ordzonikidze, Azerbaijan, Transcaucasia,
g....Volga Zone (headquarters Kazan). pistricts: Kazan, Kuibyshev, Orenburg,
1. Far East Zone (headquarters Krasnoyarsk). Districts: K.?snoyorsk, Fast
l:eria, ira.nabeikal-Chita., Anur, Par Ea ;t-Khabarovsk, Primorsk-
ViaJivQstok, Sakhaltn.
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Kalinin the rail Q 6 -i g at
Junction at Bologo 0, arid the VolkhoV bridge at,chudovv.
The Leningrad-Moscow main line 'is provided Vlth a'signal system aM is of
heavy bonstfuctii-on. 'A large part of the-line was're,ily built after 1945.
The most vulnerablq places on the.lino are tLree- the V 1 a b d
,. ,01" aroslav and one to Pskov,
At Likt)p~lay;, 4 branch to Veliki Loki an the. Moscow-Riga. llyle.
By main lines,, double-track lines are signified; They have a total
length of 33,000 km. They?aro divided into main lines running from
Moscow, and main lines connecting othe. centgrs with.each other.
Main ].fines running from MoscoN:
1, Mosoow-Lenin nr"a *n the r.ounta_noua ref-iona of ti-,;:
grad (651 }m). 418 line has the hcaViest't'-ffio in the
entire Soviet Union, with an average of about 80 pairs of trains daily.
The following branch lines run from the Moscow-Leningrad line:
At Chudovo, a line to Posadnikovo and Volkonstriye on the ~en.rgrf-d-
Murmansk line. A second branch to Novgorod.,
At Okalovka, a. branch to Neb+ t(Ion 'tie Leningrad:-D3mltrcv aline,
At Bologoye
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^'` '- r III. Ma1ri''Raiiw4y Links
2. Moscow-Riga main line (922 km) has the following branches:
At Novosokolniki; a branch to Dno-Batstakaya (sic)-Leningrad, and
Another to Nevel-Polotsk and Vit,bsk. .
At Krustpils+,a branch to Daugavpils and another to Jelga.va-Tukums,
Venbspils(on the Bq..ticj. ,
At Rczdkne.'a branch to Pskov and'another to Daugavpils.
-
Li
es tovak. The Moscow-
Minsk line is 747, 1Gi long, It forks 1c!*insk into- the Minsk -Vilna-K'aainingkad
line, 522 km long and th Mi k
e
sensitive s a out 0 pairs of through trains daily. The
points on this line are the vrailway junction at Novosokolniki,
the orossing (Duna bridges, at' Krustpilsr"~_ and the railway junction at' Riga.
#la.in, line Moscow-,Minsk-Kaliningrad and Minsk
n, t
At Plavina. sr,,a.local li.^.e to,Malona-Kupune.-Gulbens-Ape.
. . ?_ ~'. tip.. . ~ . .. f ,
Dt Riga, a recently electrified TT !e 359 kri long to Tallinn.
The entire Moscow-Riga. 1?.ne it heavy d?Astruction'Arid hag~ja~pn q pletely
.rebuilt since 194r It ha b b
At Vya.zrna., three branches: to Rzhev on the Moscow-Riga line; to
Tula., on the Moscow-Kharkov line, and to Bryansk on the Moscow-
Kiev line.
ns -nres.. line, 349 ra long.
a; The Moscow-Minsk line has the following branches:
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At Pastov', a very important double-..rock line '!15 kJ- long to
Platikatki (sic). It was built c:r.J;,letely Feu, but _n Light
construction.
At Kazatin, an important double-track line 41 !:m lc_zg through
Berdichey,?.Rovno, and K:vertsi (sic.). to Brest.
At Kalinovka and 1J1rLn4Vg :, J.eJ 14c~~tcil 3.-:. :c.
At Shmerinka (sic), two single-track but inports:mt branches; one
through Vapnyarka Rudnitsa, c,, lc edkn,, t;ota~sk.?and. Wl ;del,aja
(sic) to Odessa; the other. to Oknitsa (sic), Chencvskiy, Beltsi,
Ungeni, Kishinev, Benderi, Bessarabskiy, i'rut, and Ismail.
At Grechany, a local line to Kamenets-Podol;k.
At Ta.rnorccl, a line,. -.,St neshty, r~el'lstcn (sio). and Bakhly: (sip):,';
on the Rumanian border.
t.t Lvov, the main line from Moscow divides into two- inpoortor.t lines. One
goes to Prze, sl,~ and the other to Batovo, eicp r!:xlj;zhgorod on?:th& ?reoho-
slcva.kian.border,. The,:?ioscow-Konotop section of thts line wcs, double-tracked
in 1946 to 1950. The rest of the line was relaid tJttY. heavier construction
after-the war. 'rh1.s line c rrles very heavy tr&:f_c. is dL+.'ly oapecity is
atbout 70 pairs of trains. The line Is of great trite ;}p !7toortartop because
it connects Moscow. with all southea,-,tern 4.urop-e. 17t or r ny vulnerable point:,
such as the? crossings of the great ?rl.vc like tl-.c:- 'r..eper :and the Dniester.
Main line t1oscow-Tula -Ore l-Hharkov- pzovq.ya-Rostov connects .ldosaow with the
southern Ukraine and Critgea. It .4s 1,35- km, long and has tbo following branch
dines:
A* Tttla,. a double-track linA, fio Uzlovaya, and a second one to Kaluga-
Tikhinova (sic) on the Moscow-Kiev line.
it cre1, a double-track line-cf 549
^t Ku ,'.c," &.v"dble-tre.ck line; :fit-rsk-~f;' t, u; with 60
pairs cf t?r:'ina daily.
At Saray,;vak and nelgorod, l,'cat b. at ca i:';.`,>.
At Kharkov, o branch t,~i Gctnya.-Lgov-;:avlj>, ci.n:ula-track with about
70 pairs of trains daily; another douh1c-tr1c:c ern ch 350 km long to
Yama-tlikitovIca-Deba lzevo.
At Lozovaya, a double-track 1Ine 179 ;::a 1!,111; t:.; ? a!-r'. he, and from
there a single-track line to the Cr1: c u odor vtco.-';e1 -, topol-
Dshankoy-,',imfernpol-Sevs
At Konotar.t'.rlovk_, an important (101A.- 1L c;. !...tc 173 I:AJ long t?'
ret:1,1 n2bw'lt, but. .,f light
cQinstrnction .
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At Nikitovka, an important juncticr. point from wh.ch various
lines run to south Russia.
At Gorlovka, an electrified double-track line t:, Debalzevo.
At Taganrog, an important connection to the E,ocx Sea.
At Rostov, lines to the Caucasus.
The Moscow-Rostov main line was heavily damaged durinj World War II. It was
completely rebuilt with ncavy.construction and an.autom.tic system.
Its daily capacity is about 70 pairs of trains.
6. Main line Moscow-Ozherelye-Valuyki-Kupyansk-Debalzevo '(Rostov).
a. This line is 966 km long with the following ,important Junction points:
Osherelye; Uzlovaya (.double-trv.e:s branch to Tula) ; Volovo;. El" (Yelye,tz);
Kastornaya; Stary Oskol.; Valuyki; Kupyansk (branches to Kharkov and
Belgorod); Popasnaya; Debalzevo. At Valuyki a branch line goes off to
Liski-Poverire--plashov-Rtishcbeva-?enza-Syzran; 1,100..km long and double-
tracked,
b. At Debalzevo, an 'important 457 km branch '11ne to 'Yo.sinouH.taya-Dayepropetrovsk-
Piatikhatki-Dolgintsevo-Y.r ivoi Rog. . .
o. Most of the Moscow-Debalzevo line was bu.:lt after the war.' It 'ia 'heavily
epnstruoted with aato::a.t:.c signal systan. a.nd has a daily " capacity 'of.about'
70 pairs of trains.
Main line Moscow-Ryazan-Liski'-Millergvo-Rostov-Armavi.r-Baku, 2,550 km long.
Its main junctfon points are as -follows :
Kolomaa, junction point of the_ electrified line from Moscow.
Ryazan, where'the 3,318 km trans-Siberlan line to Inzasisban (sic)-
Kuybyshev-Chelyabinsk-O:^.sk-T; avos!.bi k-Sta.linsk begins. . .
Pe:.ze.
line to Uern::d
fiYyazl
Otro:hko (.;ic )
Liski., ;!u:.ct:;.on point for the line Va1u?.'t1-Syzra::.
tdillc`.`c,, !,.r:_ to Kundra.shevska.ya a:.1 Vo_~sh:1_v~;rad
Li;:haya, 1. i.. ?;to linL;rad .
Zverevo, 1_:.e t Deco ~l~evo.
Rostov
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Batsisak (sic)
Kushchevskaya
Sosika (sic)
Tikhoretsk, lines to Kuber.e-Stalingrad and Kra4no4r-No,vvroBsisk.
Armavir, branching-off point of the South Caucasus line to Tuspec-
Sukhur.:i-Potl-Samtredia (Batum-Shorapani-Kashuri-Stalinir-Tiflis,
where another brarch goe3 off to Leninakan-I:rivar.-Azhulia-h?indzhiyan-
Osmanli-Noviesaliani (sic)-Astaraor. the Caspian Sea..
Mine ralnyye Vodi; departure poi rt far two eloctri: ied.? branches., to
Pyatigorsk and Kislovodykra?:
Georglevsk,
Prokiadnaya, branches to Na.lohik and c,trakha_n
Jirg Koch (sic)
Besliji (:sic)
Gronzi (sic) ZG_rOzn47
Gudermes
Sha rnkhal
r4a.1Chachkala.
Baladzari. (sic.) line- to Sa.buski (sic)
Baku
This line if of nes.vy construct ion from to Pr)kniadnaya and 1~; ric.uble-
tracked with automat,c signal ;y stem .het ce oder c:, anO, ?jkhachka is . .he
daily capacity is about 70 pairs of traia. The react of the line is :,Ingle
track but-strongly built. Here the daily ca';;ac_ty is about; 30 r;air of trains,
Main line Moscow-!?yazan-Inza.-Syzral. Kuibyshev-Vladivostok. This line IS
9,283 km long. The main junction points :?re:
Ryazan
f): ustarevka
Huszyevska (,tc)
Inza.
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Syzran, bra:aoh line to Stalingrad -Li1rhaya
Kuibyshev
Kinel, branch line to Chekalov and Orsk
Krotoska' (sic) , junction point Of ?.two 'br.^tch:.li~l~,t,~g~;~9re~ .;;:. .
structior.: one to Surgut and Agriz, the other to Sterlitamak.
Chishai (sic)
Ufa
Vyazovaya
Berdya.sh, branch lines to_Bakal:=and:?Dv=hLno,- (alo).
Politayevo (sic)
Chelyabinsk, branch line to Turkestan through Kartaly, Orsk,
. Kaitaageo: (si?l-, A.ral3k, Tadhkeht'; Samarkatid;: Bukhara, Stalinarad
near the Afghan border.
Kurgan, branch line to Sverdlovsk
Petropavlovsk, branch line to Alanolinsk and Karaganda, whence local
ainns run to Lake Balkash.
'Omsk, junction point with the other line from Moscow via Kazan-
Sverdlovsk-Tyumen.
Yurga, beginning of the line to Alma Ate. near the Chinese (Sinkiang)
border. ?
Taiga,- branch, li.ne.?to Tomskl
AC}insk, branch line to Abakan
KrELsnoyarsk
Tayshet
Irkutsk
Ulan-Udo
Chita
Kaganovich
Skovorodino
Svobodny
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