Trains in Crimea

Crimea is a peninsula in Eastern Europe occupied by Russia. The railway network on the Crimean Peninsula is over 1,300 kilometers long. Trains in Crimea run between all major cities of the peninsula and there is a long-distance train from Sevastopol and Simferopol to mainland Russia. Passenger services may be temporarily suspended due to the war. Trains in Crimea are operated by Crimea Railway (Крымская железная дорога) – a publicly owned company established after Russia annexed the peninsula.

Last updated: 17.03.2024

Trains in Crimea – a general overview

Currently, there are passenger long-distance trains between mainland Russia and Crimea:

Sevastopol – Saint-Petersburg via Rostov and Tver.
Sevastopol – Moscow via Krasnodar, Rostov and Novocherkask.
Sevastopol – Chelabinsk via Rostov, Saratov, Samara and Ufa (once a week)
Sevastopol – Murmansk (once a week)
Simferopol – Moscow (double-decker train)
Simferopol – Adler
Simferopol – Kislovodsk
Simferopol – Volgograd
Simferopol – Smolensk
Simferopol – Perm (seasonal)
Simferopol – Omsk (seasonal)
Evpatorija – Moscow (seasonal)

Trains from Moscow and Saint-Petersburg are comprised of modern, comfortable and air-conditioned carriages.

Sevastopol – train timetable (Yandex)
Railway map of Crimea (Wikipedia)
Crimea Railway – official website (not available from some countries)
Grand Train  – trains from Russia to Crimea

Regional trains in Crimea run on the following routes:

Sevastopol – Yevpatoria
Sevastopol – Simferopol
Simferopol – Solyonoye Ozero
Simferopol – Dzhankoy
Simferopol – Feodosia
Dzhankoy – Armyansk

Crimea Railway, established in 2014, inherited rolling stock from the Crimean Directorate of Ukrainian Cisdnieper Railways. The Crimea Railway has three locomotive depots at: Simferopol, Dzhankoy, and Kerch; a carriage depot in Dzhankoy. In recent years most of the rolling stock fleet have been replaced. Currently, regional trains in Crimea are operated by RA2 diesel multiple units or old electric multiple units (elektritschka)

Currently, Russia is building a railway from Rostov-on-Don to the Crimea through occupied Ukrainian territory. The railway will pass through Mariupol and Berdyansk and end in Yakymivka, a south of Melitopol.

Trains from Crimea to mainland Russia pass over the Crimean Bridge – 19 km long bridge opened in 2019. Before opening passenger service travels to Russia on an inter-modal scheme via a combination of train and ferry.

Trains in Crimea
Regional trains in Crimea (Photo: Crimea Railway/Крымская железная дорога)
Railways in Crimea
Regional train in Crimea – interior (Photo: Crimea Railway/Крымская железная дорога)
Sevastopol train
Old electric multiple unit (Photo: Crimea Railway/Крымская железная дорога)

Railways in Crimea – history

The first railway line reached Crimea in 1874. The line connected present-day occupied Melitopol and Simferopol.

On 15 September 1875 the line was extended to Sevastopol. Next year the railway Dzhankoy – Feodosia was inaugurated.

In 1900 the line Vladislavovka – Kerch was opened.

In 1915 the railway line Ostryakovo – Evpatorija was put into operation.

In 1935 the line Dzhankoy – Armyansk was completed. In 1944 the line was extended to the border with present-day Ukraine and further to Kherson.

In 2014 Crimea Railways was established. All traffic to Kherson region in Ukraine was ceased.

In 2019 the Crimean Bridge was opened. Next year train ferry service was stopped. Train service was reinstated in 2022 after Ukrainian forces hit Crimean Bridge.

Related articles:

Train travel in Russia
Train travel in Kaliningrad Oblast
Sakhalin Railway

Crimean Bridge
Train crossing the Crimean Bridge (Photo: Rosavtodor, CC-BY-SA, Wikimedia Commons)
Simferopol train
Train from Moscow to Simferopol (Photo: Crimea Railway/Крымская железная дорога)