Railway is the most reliable form of land transport for the transport of goods and passengers that has ever existed. Since its inception, it has gained popularity as a relatively cheap way to transport any cargo, so its appearance is not surprising even on Sakhalin Island.
Length, main lines and key feature
The Sakhalin railway is not only remarkable for its location on the island and has no contact with the mainland.
It is an original design due to the not-so-popular track gauge in Russia - 1067 mm. It is these narrow-gauge roads that are used in Japan, India and Africa. The length of the Sakhalin Railway is 804.9 km; it unites 35 stations.
Currently, three railway branches are functioning and operating:
- From the Korsakov station to the Nogliki station.
- From the stop station "Mine" to the station "Ilyinsk".
- The Ilyinsk-Arsentyevka highway is fully suitable.
The total length is 867 km.
There are also 3 more branches with a total length of 54 km:
- Falcon - Bulls, 23 km long.
- Vakhrushev - Coal. The branch stretched for 9 km.
- Novo-Aleksandrovka - Sinegorsk, whose length is 22 km.
First, a little history
The prerequisite for the creation of the Sakhalin railway was the expedition of G.I. Nevelsky. It was she who in September 1853 built the Korsakovsky post.
From that moment, the development of Otomari, as the Japanese called Korsakov, began. The first settlers at that time lived here due to fishing and hunting, and so far no one has been thinking about any railway.
Significant conflict with Russia
Initially, the island was discovered by the Japanese in the middle of the 16th century. Russians appeared on the island only at the beginning of the 18th century. The island was very actively populated by them, so in 1845 Japan decided to declare it and the adjoining Kuril Islands its property.
But due to the fact that by that time most of the northern territory of the island was already inhabited by Russians, and the other part was not officially owned by anyone, Russia began fierce negotiations with Japan on the division of the territory. The result of the settlement of the conflict was the signing in 1855 of the short-lived Shimod agreement on the joint use of land. Later, a new agreement was concluded in which Russia renounced its part of the Kuril Islands, but in return became the sovereign and sole owner of Sakhalin. This momentous event occurred in 1875.
The advent of the railway
Before the first Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the island’s roads were represented by only a few dirt paths and highways, and in 1905 the island itself was divided into the Southern part, which went to the Japanese, and the Northern, which was inherited by the Russians according to the Portsmouth Peace Treaty
Such a number of roads was quite enough, since, apart from the convicts who were in exile and working in coal mines, no one lived on Sakhalin
It is noteworthy that, thanks to the development of mines, the first Sakhalin railway appeared, which is used for industrial purposes to transport coal.
The development of the railway from 1905 until the accession of Sakhalin to the USSR on August 25, 1945
Briefly about the events of that period:
- 1906 - the Japanese began construction of the first railway from Korsakov to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Initially, it had a width of 610 mm and was considered "super-narrow." In 1910, the line was reconstructed to the standard track width of 1,067 mm for Japan. The road was 39 kilometers long and was built record-breaking quickly in two months.
- 1911 - Opening of the branch Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - Dolinsk - Starodubskoye, which became a continuation of the railway to the north.
- 1914 - Opening of the Kanuma branch (Novoaleksandrovka) - Oku-Kavakami (Teplovodsky), with a track gauge of 610 mm.
- 1918 - the beginning of the construction of the Western Highway, with a track gauge of 1067 mm, from Kholmsk (Maoka) to Chekhov (Noda) with the key station Nevelsk (Khonto). It was approved for use at the end of 1921. It was soon extended to Tomari and entered the general chain of railway lines, although initially it was independent.
- 1928 - Opening of the Dolinsk-Makarov (Shiritou) line, which initially had a track gauge of 750 mm, but was subsequently changed to the normal Japanese standard of 1067 mm.
- 1930s - construction of the Sakhalin railway. At this time, numerous small self-supporting lines appeared, which were served by large industrial enterprises. An example of such lines is the longest of these roads, located near Shakhtersk (Toro) and Uglegorsk (Esutoro), whose length is about 80 kilometers. A track gauge of 762 mm on average is considered narrow not only in our country, but also in Japan.
- 1944 - Line Ilyinsk - Uglegorsk, recognized as closed. The railway track was dismantled and used on another section of the road.
Who built the railway from the first sleepers until 1944?
The railway track of 1906-1944 was built by private companies with state support, by luring the poor to work with promises of good working conditions. The workers involved in such construction projects were mainly Koreans living in Japan who were subjected to slave labor, as a result of which many people died. But even in the event of the death of the employee, no compensation was given to anyone. Sakhalin residents say that in order to calculate the number of Koreans who died during the construction, you just need to calculate the number of sleepers on rails.
Significant event of 1945
As a result of the successful implementation of the plan of the military operation carried out by the Soviet troops in 1945, South Sakhalin was returned to the disposal of the USSR. During the operation, there were no special and irreparable destruction of rails and buildings, so the extensive network of railways remained almost intact.
The railway after the Second World War until the time of perestroika
In 1946, it was decided to re-mount the rails on the Sakhalin Railway from existing standards on the mainland.
It was also planned to build new lines, such as the construction of a bridge across the Tatar Strait, but this line was not destined to appear. The idea itself arose in 1950, and the construction was supposed to be completed by 1955. To complete the project, a little less than several tens of thousands of people, most of whom were prisoners, were brought to the place where the line was supposed to go. All of them worked under duress under unbearably difficult conditions. But the tunnel, namely, tunneling through the strait, and the workers were engaged, was not allowed to be born, because due to the death of Stalin, the project was closed without completion.
In 1967, a modern locomotive was transported to Sakhalin. In just a few years, 30 were delivered. Until this time, pre-war technique was used.
The first project to be completed in 1971 was the highway from Arsentievka to Ilyinsk, which then continued to Tymovsk, originating from Pobedino station. Later it was continued to Nysh, and in 1979 to Noglik.
In 1973, the first ferry service appeared, which ran along the route Vanino-Holmes. This gave a big leap to the economy of the island, as it allowed to establish export and import of goods on an industrial scale.
In the 1980s, train stations were reconstructed or built from scratch at some of the key stations. The station building in Poronaysk was moved to a new location, which allowed freight trains to change direction at this stopping point. Also, this time was also remembered by the fact that the use of Japanese freight wagons was stopped - only passenger and wagons for diesel trains were delivered.
From perestroika until 2003
The collapse of the Soviet Union was difficult years for this railway network. Significantly reduced the movement of trains along the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk railway along almost the entire Kholmsk-Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk line. This road was popular among tourists and had beautiful views of the landscape. Also, as one of the longest, it had great territorial significance, but when it came to the cost of its repair and maintenance, the authorities decided that maintenance of this route is extremely unprofitable from an economic point of view. The enterprises that maintained the roads were in a crisis situation, so many lines were closed. It happened in 1994, and over time, things only get worse.
Since 2001, the K series diesel trains were no longer used. Only 2 diesel trains from the D2 series, designed in the 1980s, remained in operation.
In 2002, it was decided to change the railway to the standard gauge for the mainland.
In 2003, a monument was erected in honor of the start of reconstruction work.
Our days
Reconstruction work is underway to renew the railway track, which they promise to complete in a few years. It will be hard to say whether railways will be popular and whether they meet the expectations of the authorities.
The interests of the Sakhalin Railway are currently represented by Sakhalin Passenger Company OJSC, the head of the railway is the general director of this company, and the founder of the company is Russian Railways.
Passenger Train Schedule
The current train schedule for the Sakhalin railway from the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk station is represented by very meager flights, as it consists of only 8 positions.
One day to Tymovsk and evening to night - to Nogliki. These are long-distance lines.
Suburban trains are as follows:
- 1 flight goes to Tomari, Korsakov and Bykov.
- 2 follow to the destination Novoderevenskaya.
In the schedule, the difference with Moscow time is 7 hours.
The importance of the road for the state
For the state, the Sakhalin Oblast and the railway are of paramount importance, since the island itself is rich in minerals such as oil, natural gas and coal. Wood and fish are also transported by rail.
The position of the railway was greatly shaken by vehicles. From any settlement to any place can be reached by bus or private car. And communication with the mainland can be easily saved using flights.
To remember
The Sakhalin railway bed has its own unique history. To convey it to the population, the Sakhalin Railway Museum was created. Here were collected pre-war locomotives, old snow removal equipment, tank models and much more of what was saved or given as a gift. The Museum of the History of the Sakhalin Railway can be visited by everyone.