A Visual Story From Zaborona About the First Hungarian-Galician Railway — Which Doesn’t Benefit Anybody
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Photographer Pavlo Bishko, a member of our editorial office, has been filming his native land on the border of Ukraine and Poland for over 10 years. In this story, he talks about the Hungarian-Galician railway, which is practically the only source of attention for local residents.
As seen on the map, the railway track between Przemyśl and Ustrzyki Dolne crosses over the Polish-Ukrainian border twice.
As a result, the section of the railway that’s located on Ukrainian territory between Nyzhankovychi and Smilnytsia doesn’t benefit either country.
Photo: Pavlo Bishko
Historically, this was part of the first Hungarian-Galician railway, built in 1872, when Galicia was occupied by Austria-Hungary. The track connects Lviv to Budapest.
Train station in Nyzhankovychi. Photo: Pavlo Bishko
Zaborona reports how this section of the railway was used in the Soviet Era — and why it’s now falling into decline.
After the Second World War, the USSR and Poland established a border line such that the section of railway that had passed exclusively through Poland before would now be in Soviet territory.
Photo: Pavlo Bishko
As a result, the train that had previously only run on Polish land now crossed the new USSR border twice.
Photo: Pavlo Bishko
Polish diplomat Miroslav Zulawski, who wasn’t able to get to his family home in Dobromyl in Lviv Oblast during the Soviet era, once wrote that ‟this is probably the most absurd border segment in Europe, and perhaps even in the world.”
Dobromyl, 1929. Photo: jewishen.org
Beginning in 1963, the “Solina” train has run on this railway for over 30 years — from Zagórz to Przemyśl and then to Warsaw. For Polish people, this was the quickest railway route to the Polish Beskids. The train traveled 42 km through USSR territory without stopping.
Passenger of "Solina" , 1991. Photo: Andrzej Kizimowicz
‟Border guards sat on the train cars' stairs, while others would patrol inside the train with dogs. The passengers weren’t allowed to open the windows, and if someone threw a piece of paper outside, the guard would immediately pull the emergency brake,” Krzysztof Potchala recalled in his book ‟The Beskids during the PRL.”
Train station in Khyriv, 1994. Photo: Marra Man / Flickr
Foreign tourists often used the ‟Solina,” because it was one of the only ways for them to visit USSR territory without a visa.
"Solina" crosses the border, 1991. Photo: Andrzej Kizimowicz
In the mid 90s, another international route was used: Khyriv to Zagórz. This train was mainly used to transport illicit tobacco and ‟Rasputin” vodka from Ukraine to Poland. As a result, people began referring to it as ‟Rasputin.”
Photo: Pavlo Bishko
In 2010, however, the international railway on this route was shut down.
Photo: Pavlo Bishko
For years, members of ‟line no. 102,” a public organization of activists and railroad enthusiasts, have been trying to convince officials to reinstitute railway service between Przemyśl and Zagórz through Ukrainian territory, though they have yet to achieve any results.
Photo: Pavlo Bishko
Video: Pavlo Bishko
By spring 2020, this part of the railway was only used by Ukrainian trains. Twice a day, a train from Sambir to Nyzhankovychi and Starzhava would connect several villages and towns close to the border with the district center.
Video: Pavlo Bishko
Two cars with reserved seats, pulled by diesel locomotives, were filled more than halfway with students, though only on weekends.
Photo: Pavlo Bishko
However, since the start of the pandemic on March 18, the ‟Ukrzaliznitsia's” route has been cancelled as well. Service still hasn’t been restored.
Photo: Pavlo Bishko
Thus, the railway infrastructure, built during the Austro-Hungarian era to connect Budapest to Lviv, has now fallen into disrepair on both sides of the border.
Poland and Ukraine are unable to restore international railway service. ‟Ukrzaliznitsia” remains the last train to have traveled this section of the railroad.