# Southwestern Railways > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Southwestern_Railways > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Southwestern_Railways.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_Railways > Source revision: 1277176478 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) State-owned railway company in Ukraine This article is about the Southwestern Railways in [Ukraine](/source/Ukraine). For the [UK](/source/UK) company, see [South Western Railway](/source/South_Western_Railway). For other uses, see [South Western Railway (disambiguation)](/source/South_Western_Railway_(disambiguation)). Southwestern Railways Південно-Західна залізниця Subdivisions of Ukrainian Railways Overview Headquarters Kyiv Locale Central Ukraine, North Ukraine Dates of operation 1870–present Predecessor Southwestern Railways (Soviet Union) Technical Track gauge 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) Length 4,668 km (2,900 mi) Other Website http://www.swrailway.gov.ua [Struve Railroad Bridge](/source/Struve_Railroad_Bridge) **Southwestern Railways** (PZZ), ([Ukrainian](/source/Ukrainian_language): Південно-Західна залізниця) headquartered in [Kyiv](/source/Kyiv), the capital of [Ukraine](/source/Ukraine), is a component part of the [Ukrzaliznytsia](/source/Ukrainian_Railways) company, its regional branch. It is named "Southwestern" because it is Southwest of [Moscow](/source/Moscow), despite being in the Northern part of Ukraine. In February 2025, the Commission of the [Ukrainian Institute of National Memory](/source/Ukrainian_Institute_of_National_Memory) Noted that "Southwestern" and "Southern Railways" names are propaganda for Russian imperial policy and violate [the law](/source/On_the_Condemnation_and_Prohibition_of_Propaganda_of_Russian_Imperial_Policy_in_Ukraine_and_the_Decolonization_of_Toponymy).[1][2] ## Structure As of 2008, SWR's rail system included 4,668 km (2,901 mi) of track, of which 93,3% were electrified. The SWR consists of five sections (directions) named after the cities of their administration seat - [Kyiv](/source/Kyiv) - [Koziatyn](/source/Koziatyn) - [Zhmerynka](/source/Zhmerynka) - [Korosten](/source/Korosten) - [Konotop](/source/Konotop). The above mentioned directions administrative seats beside regular train stations have also [locomotive](/source/Motive_power_depot) and [railcar](/source/Railcar) depots. In addition such depots also are located in [Shepetivka](/source/Shepetivka), [Darnytsia](/source/Darnytsia_railway_station) (left-bank Kyiv), [Bakhmach](/source/Bakhmach), [Vorozhba](/source/Vorozhba), [Hrechany](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hrechany&action=edit&redlink=1) (neighborhood of [Khemlnytskyi](/source/Khmelnytskyi%2C_Ukraine)), and [Snovsk](/source/Snovsk) (formerly Shchors). There are 315 railway stations in the SWR system. ## Geography SWR's route map includes all the railroads in the [Kyiv](/source/Kyiv_Oblast), [Zhytomyr](/source/Zhytomyr_Oblast), [Chernihiv](/source/Chernihiv_Oblast), [Vinnytsia](/source/Vinnytsia_Oblast), [Khmelnytskyi](/source/Khmelnytskyi_Oblast) and [Sumy](/source/Sumy_Oblast) [oblasts](/source/Administrative_divisions_of_Ukraine) (provinces of Ukraine). Its territory borders [Belarusian Railway](/source/Belarusian_Railway) to the north in [Belarus](/source/Belarus), [Moscow Railway](/source/Moscow_Railway) to the north and north-east in [Russia](/source/Russia), [Calea Ferată din Moldova](/source/Calea_Ferat%C4%83_din_Moldova) to the south-west in [Moldova](/source/Moldova), and three Ukrainian territorial branches of [Ukrainian Railways](/source/Ukrainian_Railways), [Lviv Railways](/source/Lviv_Railways) to the west, [Southern Railways](/source/Southern_Railways_(Ukraine)) to the east, and [Odesa Railways](/source/Odesa_Railways) to the south. The [Chernihiv–Ovruch railway](/source/Chernihiv%E2%80%93Ovruch_railway) that passes [Chernobyl Power Plant](/source/Chernobyl_Power_Plant) and has restricted use also passes across the territory of neighboring [Belarus](/source/Belarus). ## History See also: [Odesa Railways](/source/Odesa_Railways) The first railway to be built in the Ukrainian part of the [Russian Empire](/source/Russian_Empire) was a track from [Odesa](/source/Odesa) to [Balta](/source/Balta%2C_Ukraine). It was 213 km (132 mi) in length and was built in 1865. This railroad connected the agricultural regions of the northern part of today's [Odesa Oblast](/source/Odesa_Oblast) with [Odesa](/source/Odesa), a seaport on the [Black Sea](/source/Black_Sea) coast. The direct predecessor of Southwestern Railways was Kyiv–Balta railways that, in 1870, linked Kyiv with Odesa Railways through Balta. Just before that, in 1868 in [Kyiv](/source/Kyiv) began construction of an important piece of infrastructure, the [Struve Railroad Bridge](/source/Struve_Railroad_Bridge), which, in 1870, connected both banks of the city over [Dnieper](/source/Dnieper). That year, Kyiv was also connected to the rest of the Russian Empire's railroad system by a track from Kyiv to [Kursk](/source/Kursk) with Kursk – Kyiv branch. The history of the SWR began on 7 June 1870, when the construction of these railroads was launched and making it the third oldest railway system in Ukraine after Lviv and Odesa. The [Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi railway station](/source/Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi_railway_station), the main railway station of the SWR and the [Ukrzaliznytsia](/source/Ukrzaliznytsia) was also built in that year. Between 1871 and 1876, lines from [Zhmerynka](/source/Zhmerynka) to [Volochysk](/source/Volochysk) and from [Berdychiv](/source/Berdychiv) to [Shepetivka](/source/Shepetivka) were added, and between 1890 and 1897, the lines from [Zhmerynka](/source/Zhmerynka) to [Mohyliv-Podilskyi](/source/Mohyliv-Podilskyi), [Koziatyn](/source/Koziatyn) to [Uman](/source/Uman), [Khrystynivka](/source/Khrystynivka) to [Shpola](/source/Shpola) and [Berdychiv](/source/Berdychiv) to [Zhytomyr](/source/Zhytomyr); 1897 was also the year when the [Fastiv](/source/Fastiv) Railways were added to the SWR. [Volyn](/source/Volyn) Railways were brought into the SWR in 1902, the same year that the line from Kyiv to [Korosten](/source/Korosten) was built. By the beginning of [World War I](/source/World_War_I), the total length of the SWR system was 3,096 km (1,924 mi). ### Directors Among the most notable directors of Southwestern Railways was [Sergei Witte](/source/Sergei_Witte), who later became the [Prime Minister of Russia](/source/Prime_Minister_of_Russia). ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Назви Південно-Західна і Південна залізниці є пропагандою російської імперської політики - УІНП"](https://interfax.com.ua/news/general/1046763.html). *Інтерфакс-Україна* (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2025-02-10. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** УІНП. [""Південно-Західна залізниця" та "Південна залізниця""](https://uinp.gov.ua/dekomunizaciya-ta-reabilitaciya/ekspertna-komisiya-uinp/fahovi-vysnovky-ekspertnoyi-komisiyi/pivdenno-zahidna-zaliznycya-ta-pivdenna-zaliznycya). *УІНП* (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2025-02-10. ## External links - [Railways portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Railways) - [Ukrzaliznytsia official site](http://www.uz.gov.ua/?m=all.road.southwest&lng=uk) - [SWR official site](http://www.swrailway.gov.ua) v t e Ukrainian Railways Regional branches Lviv Odesa Cisdnieper (Prydnipro)¹ Southern Southwestern Donets¹ ¹ — partially disused because of the Russian war in Ukraine Authority control databases International VIAF National United States Other IdRef --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Southwestern Railways](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_Railways) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_Railways?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.