Ukraine - A Journey to Dnipro - June 2024

 

A Journey to Dnipro

 09-10/06/2024

CHS7-134 on the outskirts of Dnipro, this type of loco would haul our train twice

Setting off at 2200 from Hull, UK it was the start of a monumental journey that would no doubt be quite memorable. The first stage was quite unremarkable; drive down to London Stanstead Airport for a Ryanair flight at 0600 the next day. There isn't really much to tell. Flying to Kosice the best bet is either Wizz or Ryanair from a London airport departing early doors and usually being quite cheap. On this occasion the flight came in at just over £20 making it a very affordable way to travel. 

The flight thankfully departed on time after we'd spent a few hours waiting in the mediocre airport and we were on our way to Eastern Slovakia. A flight time of two and a half hours meant that we were arriving into Kosice at 0930. So far so good for connections later in the day. Passport control was quick and easy at the small airport and we were ordering a taxi via Bolt within 15 minutes of being off the plane. Another 15 minutes later we were at the central railway station and having a much needed coffee. 

ZSSK "Hector" 721 131 waits for coaches to shunt at Kosice Station

Kosice station itself isn't awe inspiring and is undergoing modernisation. Whilst we waited for our connection to Ukraine we watched the likes of Vectrons, 350's and even saw a 131 in classic green and yellow pass through. The area is good for trainspotting albeit we didn't have much time till our cross border railbus.

Twice daily ZSSK operate a Kosice - Mukachevo international train using a class 813 railbus, something you might not expect to find on a 4 hour journey which crosses a time zone! This was the second time we had made the outward journey with the first being back in January. From that experience we found it to be better than you might think with it being acceptable, especially given the current situation in the world. At 11:46 we set off towards the border, heading for the town of Čierna nad Tisou where we would stop just before the physical border and have Slovak border force stamp us out. After about 30-40 minutes here we proceeded to Chop, the Ukrainian border station. Upon arrival border guards join the train, take passports and ask basic questions such as "where are you travelling too". Far less than you might expect. Again, half an hour later we get our passports back with a smile and we are on our way.

Record shot of M62-1260, a standard gauge loco

 

This is when you really start to realise you are on a railbus in Ukraine, every couple of seconds it's over some joint or gap in the track, people pay for such experiences at a theme park. Going is slow, speeding up and slowing down every minute but we are making good progress and after an hour and a bit we arrive into Mukachevo's international platform (10 minute walk from the main station) at the end of the standard gauge line. 

ZSSK 813 013 at Mukachevo after working R962 in January 2024

 We had 50 minutes to get from the international platform to the regular station via an ATM before we caught train number 3 Uzhhorod - Zaporizhzhia. The train arrived on time with a twin section Skoda CHS7 leading. Our coach being the last in the 10 coach train meant a quick walk down to the carriage attendant before finding our seats/beds in coupe class. We opted for what is 2nd class, a four person compartment made up of two upper and two lower beds. I'd really recommend this style of travel if you can put up without some comforts as it's a great way to get from A to B overnight, utilising the daylight for spotting or other activities. It is however important to remember a lot of these trains in Ukraine and other former Soviet countries can be quite dated, often without aircon or showers so be prepared to feel like a good shower the following evening!

Overall the journey was good, we got talking to a local and asked some questions about life in Ukraine as well as how petrol stations worked (a little differently to the UK) and in return we answered why we travelled to these areas in Ukraine. Understandably people were a little confused as first as due to the current conflict Dnipro isn't a tourist hotspot. This being said the people we spoke to seemed glad to have to people interested in their country. By Lviv we were tucked up in bed and if it wasn't for prior knowledge we wouldn't have know that we swapped our DC CHS7 for an AC CHS4 (Twin Skoda for Single Skoda). Departing from Lviv I woke up and watched a couple of VL80K's go past, something we would come to see later in the trip, but for now it was time to sleep as our train headed east towards Kyiv. 

The route we took on Train number 3 from Mukachevo - Dnipro

In the morning we awoke around 7 with a curiosity for where we were. During the night we had headed in the direction of Kyiv and then continued further east. Around 10am we had our last loco change, back to a CHS7 as we reached another area of 3000v DC electrification and headed on our final couple of hours into Dnipro. From the train we saw a couple of VL8's as well as various other locos, reminding us of what we had in store for the next few days. Arrival into Dnipro was on time (impressive given the distance travelled) and we disembarked onto the fairly ordinary platforms of Dnipro Holovnyi station, the central station in the city. Compared to the impressive station roof Lviv has it wasn't anything to talk about but the main station hall had charm. No photo to attach as I believe you aren't meant to take photos of station buildings, but I may be wrong. Plus there are plenty on Google! 

First impressions of Dnipro were of a bustling city around the station area, taxi drivers trying to find customers, people arriving home after trips away but also of soldiers in uniform, maybe arriving from the conflict zone. This is something you will see in most major cities and is one of the signs that makes what is going on in the country hit home. Another shocking sight was that of a damaged building, presumably from a missile strike. It was hard to spot at first behind trams, buses and the everyday bustle of life that is found in the majority of former USSR cities but once noticed it was a glaring reminder of the danger that people face everyday in Ukraine. 

Shocking damage to what was once a rather ornate looking building

After a very brief look at the station square and spending a few minutes just to take it all in it was time to head to the first location which I will cover in another entry. Overall a fantastic experience and one that I will remember for a very long time.

  

A typical sight in a Ukrainian village, taken from the train

Green tea can be bought on the train for less than 20 pence!