Sakhalin is the largest island of the Russian Federation, situated in Far East. Sakhalin has an extensive railway network, mostly constructed by the Japanese. In recent years all railway lines on the island were regauged to 1520 mm. Rolling stock was replaced and infrastructure was upgraded. Train travel in Sakhalin is possible from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Nogliki by an overnight trains. There are suburban trains from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Trains on Sakhalin are operated by Passenger Company Sakhalin, a subsidiary of the Far East Railway (Дальневосточная железная дорога) and Russian Railways.
Train travel on Sakhalin island – basic information:
Trains on Sakhalin connects almost all major cities and towns on the island. Rolling stock fleet consists mainly new or refurbished vehicles: RA-2 or RA-3 railbuses and passenger trains comprised of diesel locomotive and carriages.
Train timetable for Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk station (Yandex) – long-distance, urban and regional trains.
Passenger Company Sakhalin – official website, timetable, additional information
Far East Railway – official website (not available from some countries)
Railway map of the Sakhalin island (Wikipedia)
Trains on Sakhalin run on the following routes:
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Nogliki (overnight train)
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Korsakov (regional train)
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Novoaleksandrovka (regional train)
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Poronaysk (regional train)
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – Tomari (regional train)
Holmsk – Chekhov (suburban train)
There are a few trains in each direction daily but trains on Sakhalin are popular among locals.
Children’s railway in Yuzhno-Sakhalin
There is a children’s railway in City Park of Culture and Leisure, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, named after Yuri Gagarin. The narrow gauge railway was opened on 6 June 1954. The route consists 2 km of circular track and a 200 m long branch into the depot. The railway was built to 750 mm gauge. The route through the park is picturesque – the train crosses a river twice over two steel bridges and on a short section of the line follows a lake only a few metres from its shore.
In 2008 the track and infrastructure were upgraded.
In 2011 diesel locomotive TUYU and 4 passenger cars were delivered. Rolling stock fleet consists eight passenger cars and two diesel locomotives. Old carriages manufactured in Poland are probably out of use.
New Komsomolskaya station was opened in 2016.
Trains run every half hour. The journey takes 13 minutes. The railway starts its season in May.
Children’s railway in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk https://city-park.yuzhno-sakh.ru/places/detskaya-zheleznaya-doroga/ – official website
Russian name: Южно-Сахалинская детская железная дорога
Railways on Sakhalin – history
History of the railways in Sakhalin began after the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 when the northern half of Sakhalin was placed under the control of the Russian Empire, whilst the southern half (Karafuto) was under control of Japan. On the Japanese part of the island the railway from Korsakov to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk was built to a 600 mm gauge (42.5 km) and later regauged to 1067 mm. The line was completed in 1906. The Japanese railway network rapidly growing in the next decades and was over 700 km in length by the end of World War II.
In 1911, a 64 km branch was built from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Starodubskoye.
On th Russian part of the island, several narrow gauge lines were constructed in the early 1920s. In 1930s the broad-gauge line was completed. Russian lines were intended for industrial purposed and have not survived.
After World War II Sakhalin returned to Russia (Soviet Union) with the island’s complete rail network and rolling stock. Shortly after reunification the southern line was extended north to Nogliki.
During the Soviet era, the Sakhalin railway was neglected and passenger traffic was significantly reduced.
Since 1973, a train ferry has connected Vanino with the town of Kholmsk on Sakhalin.
In 2003, Russian Railways decided to regauge all 1067mm gauge railways on Sakhalin to 1520 mm gauge. It entailed the complete reconstruction of the island’s tracks and the infrastructure – the new bridges and drainage facilities were built. The track remained in constant use, the original gauge was retained and a third rail was added to accommodate trains that use the 1520mm gauge,
There are plans to build a railway bridge or tunnel between mainland Russia and Sakhalin.
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