Polessky Railways

In 1881, the highest order was signed on the construction of the 136-verst branch of Zhabink - Pinsk , which was built by the War Department. This road was built in one summer. This was facilitated by the flat terrain and the almost complete absence of artificial structures. On November 9, 1882, passenger and freight traffic opened on the branch.

On January 24, 1883, the Minister of War again declared the need for the construction of strategic railways through Polesie . On this occasion, on February 14, 1883, a special meeting was held with the presence of Tsar Alexander II at which the Minister of Communications was tasked with building a three-year term Polessky Railways with a total length of 1,075 miles:

• Vilno-Rivne with the Baranavichy-Bialystok branch and connecting branches;
• Siedlec-Malkin
• Pinsk-Gomel

The construction of roads was planned to be carried out by the railway battalions of the War Department.

Already on May 12, 1863, work began on the construction of the Vilna-Rivne road, and on December 30, 1884, traffic was opened on the Vilnius-Luninets-Pinsk section with a length of 351 versts, and on August 2, 1885 on the Luninets-Rivne section with a length of 182 versts. The opening of the movement in the remaining sections took place: on the Baranavichy-Bialystok branch 200 versts long in November 1885; Luninets-Gomel 280 versts long in February 1886; Siedlec-Malkin 62 miles long in July 1887. The construction of roads was funded directly by the treasury under the management of the Provisional Directorate of Treasury Railways and cost a mile and a half: the Vilno-Rivne line and the Luninets-Pinsk section - 42,288 rubles; Luninets-Gomel - 36141 rubles; Baranovichi-Bialystok - 46,768 rubles; Siedlec-Malkin - 46094, and with a bridge over the Bug - 61453 rubles.

On April 6, 1885, the construction of the road from Gomel to Bryansk was allowed in the same way (by railway battalions) as was used in the construction of the Polesie railways. It was opened in August 1887 and cost the treasury 31,434 rubles per mile. ^[one]

In 1886, the Vilna-Rivne and Pinsk railways were renamed the Polesie railways.

In May 1918, transferred to the NKPS . Some lines went to Poland . As of the beginning of 1991, most of the lines were part of the Belarusian and Baltic railways .

The first head of the Vilno-Rivne and Pinsk , and then Polessky railways was the railway engineer Ivan Ivanovich Khodorovsky . Then this post was occupied by the railway engineer Vasily Nikolayevich Kokovtsev , the railway engineer Alexander Yulievich Fride , and from August 10, 1901, the railway engineer Vladimir Pavlovich Reisler .

Polesie Railways connected Polesie with the Baltic, North-West, Central Industrial Areas. They had military-strategic importance, contributed to the development of woodlands of Polesie, the development of woodworking and leather industry, the growth of cities ( Vilna , Slutsk , Bialystok , Brest , Gomel , Bryansk ). The road played a significant role in the export of timber and its export to the domestic market.

• Zhabinka - Pinsk (movement opened in 1882 )
• Vilna - Luninets - Pinsk ( 1884 )
• Luninets - Rivne ( 1885 )
• Luninets - Gomel
• Bialystok - Baranavichy ( 1886 )
• Gomel - Bryansk ( 1887 )
• Brest - Zhabinka - Bryansk ( 1887 )
• Bridges - Grodno ( 1907 )

The length (as of 1913 ) is 1904 versts (including 1039 versts - a double track).

In 1885, on the Polessky Railways there were: 68 steam locomotives , 200 passenger cars and 1,511 freight cars . ^[2] .

Railway workshops were built on the Polessky Railways (in Pinsk , Vilna , Gomel ). On the road, 412 wooden and 235 metal bridges, 6 overpasses and other man-made structures were erected. A sleeper impregnation plant , 72 warehouses has been opened. There were 17 colleges and schools (at the stations of Baranovichi, Brest, Pinsk, Luninets), training courses for employees in the commercial and technical movement.

• The history of the construction of the Belarusian Railways of 1850-1900.
• Polessky Railways

• Polesie Railways // Railway Transport: Encyclopedia / Ch. ed. N. S. Konarev . - M .: Big Russian Encyclopedia , 1994. - S. 315. - ISBN 5-85270-115-7 .