History: The Kaliningrad Oblast (= region) of Russia is a historical anomaly. The area was traditionally German, but was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1945. Those Germans who had not already fled westwards in 1945 were killed or deported, and the area was repopulated with Russians. Upon the division of the Soviet Union into separate republics Kaliningrad Oblast became an outlying part of the Russian Federation, wedged between Lithuania and Poland. The city of Kaliningrad was, under its German name of Königsberg, the principal city of Ost Preussen (East Prussia), much of which is now part of Poland. The region’s railways were built by the Germans, and formed part of the Deutsche Reichsbahn, but are now managed as a division of the Russian Railways (RZD). Kaliningrad itself is rather drab; the city suffered extensive damage towards the end of World War II, and was rebuilt in a most utilitarian manner. The largest German building to survive intact is probably the main station, rebuilt 1929, formerly Königsberg Hauptbahnhof, now Kaliningrad Yuzhniy. The area has remained Russian largely because of its strategic importance. It has a naval base at Baltiysk, and extensive commercial docks in Kaliningrad itself. The military presence in the area is obvious, and the region has been open to foreign visitors only since 1991. Russian towns named after Bolsheviks like Kalinin have often reverted to pre-Soviet names, but Kaliningrad has remained unaltered. Reverting to a German name would no doubt seem inappropriate to the present Russian population.

Kaliningrad is not a place to visit without thorough preparation. It is beset with bureaucracy,sometimes with one official not agreeing with paperwork issued by another. Tourism is arranged on the basis that people will travel in groups, and making individual arrangements can be very difficult. A visa is essential; application forms are available from Russian embassies and consulates. A visa will be issued only to applicants with an invitation to visit Russia. Unless one knows a resident of Kaliningrad, or a company based there, it is necessary to obtain the invitation from a Russian travel agency. The visa will be for a specified period, and it can be very difficult to leave Russia with an expired visa. It is, therefore, desirable to obtain a visa for a slightly longer period than one’s planned stay, in case of delays. Visitors must register with the police within three days of arrival, but many hotels will arrange this. The hotel will require one’s visa and passport for this purpose.

It is not permitted to import or export roubles. Credit-cards, Eurocheques and the like are not normally accepted, so it is necessary to take plenty of cash - either in Deutschmarks (DEM) or US dollars (USD). British pounds sterling (GBP) are not accepted by most money changers, official or otherwise. Border officials sometimes require visitors to complete a currency declaration upon entering Russia, and this must be retained until departure. Accommodation is paid for in hard currency in advance to the travel agent issuing the invitation to visit. Travel agents will expect visitors to be travelling as a coach party, and the desire to use local train services may be regarded as most unusual.

Discretion is needed when taking photographs of railways or trams. It must be remembered that the region is still a sensitive military zone. Care is required not to include military vehicles, personnel or installations in photographs. Some officials may object to photography at railway stations.

Very few people speak English, though German may be understood by some. For those not familiar with the language, an English-Russian dictionary is essential, as well as a phrase book, to assist in understanding material in Cyrillic script.

The Latvia and Lithuania Railway Map including Kaliningrad Region (Second edition, 1996; ISBN 1 898319 20 0) is recommended and can be obtained by sending GBP3 in UK stamps to Quail Map Company, 2 Lincoln Road, Exeter EX4 2DZ, Great Britain.

Most train services in the Kaliningrad area are of a local nature. Fares are extremely cheap, and organised on a zonal basis. Maps at main stations indicate the zones, and charts show the fare to each. Sale of tickets is reasonably efficient, and the legendary long queues will not normally be found. A special booking office at Kaliningrad Yuzhniy (on the left side of the main concourse) sells international tickets. It is essential to present one’s exit visa and passport when buying an international ticket. No timetable is published, but train times are displayed at stations. Timings seem to change quite frequently, but three or four days should be adequate to travel over all of the passenger railways in the region. Most lines have two or three trains daily, with more intensive services to Svetlogorsk and Zelenogradsk.

Most passenger lines radiate from Kaliningrad, the principal exception being those from Chernyakhovsk north to Sovetsk and south to Zheleznodorozhniy. Kaliningrad has two main stations Yuzhniy (= south; the former Hbf) and Severniy (= north; the former Nordbahnhof). Severniy is more convenient for the city centre, but is not served by all trains. With the exception of a few summer extras from Sevemiy, all trains to and from Kaliningrad terminate and start at Yuzhniy. Most local services are worked by Ganz diesel-hydraulic multiple-units or by 3000V dc electric units, both types of stock dating from the 1960s and equipped with wooden seating. Trains to Chernyakhovsk and Sovetsk are generally locomotive-hauled. Carriages are mostly hard-class, adaptable for day or night-time travel. Seats are covered with leatherette and have minimal padding. Partitions and fold-away bunks rather restrict the external view. A small number of carriages, which look externally similar, are saloons with unidirectional seating. Locomotives are diesels of type M62, or the double version 2M62. Apart from being 1520mm-gauge, these are virtually identical to MAV class M62, the old DR class 120 and PKP class ST44.

Trams and trolleybuses operate in Kaliningrad, and bus services run throughout the region. Trams are a mixture of Tatras and second-hand Düwag cars from Germany. Buses and trams can be very crowded. Taxis are extremely cheap, even for long journeys, but the fare should be agreed in advance.

The railways, line by line

Kaliningrad - Mamonovo RZD (- Braniewo PKP): Opened from Braunsberg (now Braniewo, Poland) via Heiligenbeil (now Mamonovo, Russia) to Königsberg on 2 August 1853, this line was like most railways in the area promoted by the Prussian state’s Preussische Staatseisenbahn. It has both a standard-gauge and a Russian-gauge track, running parallel most of the way in from Mamonovo. They take different routes into Kaliningrad, the Russian-gauge line following the original route and the standard-gauge diverging east to join the railway from Bagrationovsk. Russian-gauge track extends south over the border to Bogaczewo in Poland, but is little-used. A local Kaliningrad - Mamonovo passenger service operates over the Russian-gauge track.. PKP operate the standard-gauge track and run Gdynia - Kaliningrad passenger trains. The schedule of the Gdynia service was accelerated to take account of track improvements that have not, in fact, taken place, so the trains are usually 30-60 minutes late. The standard-gauge platforms at Kaliningrad Yuzhniy are sometimes referred to as Kaliningrad Passazhirskiy (= passenger).

Kaliningrad - Bagrationovsk RZD (- Glomno PKP): Opened by the Ostpreussische Südbahn from Königsberg via Preussisch Eylau (now Bagrationovsk, Russia) to Bartenstein (now Bartoszyce, Poland) on 24 September 1866, this line is mixed standard- and Russian-gauge with four running rails on one set of sleepers. A local Kaliningrad - Bagrationovsk passenger service operates, and. the line continues for freight only into Poland.

Kaliningrad - Chernyakhovsk - Nesterov RZD (- Kybartai LG): Opened from Königsberg via Insterburg (now Chernyakhovsk, Russia) to Stallupönen (later Ebenrode, now Nesterov, Russia) on 6 June 1860 the line was extended to the eastern border of East Prussia at Eydtkuhnen on 15 August 1860. It is served by a mixture of local services and through trains to Kaunas and Vilnius in Lithuania, and to destinations in Russia, principally Sankt Peterburg and Moskva.

(Kaliningrad -) Chernyakhovsk - Zheleznodorozhniy RZD (- Skandawa PKP): Opened from Insterburg (now Chernyakhovsk, Russia) to Gerdauen (now Zheleznodorozhniy, Russia) on 16 January 1871, the line was extended south to Rothfliess (now Czerwonka, Poland) on 27 December 1871. A limited Chernyakhovsk - Zheleznodorozhniy passenger service operates, not very conveniently timed, and the line remains open for freight to Poland. Only the section over the border, between Zheleznodorozhniy and Skandawa, is both Russian- and standard-gauge. The line makes junctions with a Chernyakhovsk avoiding line, apparently built in the Soviet era, but the western end at least is out of use.

(Kaliningrad -) Chernyakhovsk - Sovetsk RZD (- Pagegiai LG): Opened by the Tilsit-Insterburger Eisenbahn from Insterburg (now Chernyakhovsk, Russia) to Tilsit (now Sovetsk, Russia) on 16 June 1865, the line was extended north to Memel (now Klaipeda, Lithuania) by the Preussische Staatseisenbahn in 1875. Latterly, until the mid-1990s, passenger services over the border from Sovetsk into Lithuania ran weekly, if required. A significant deviation eastwards was built at Chernyakhovsk, apparently to simplify the junction with the main line. The old line remains in use for wagon storage, but is not connected at the Sovetsk end.

Kaliningrad - Polessk - Sovetsk RZD (- Pagegiai LG): This secondary line opened from Königsberg east to Labiau (now Polessk, Russia) on 1 October 1889. The section from Tilsit west to Heinrichswalde (now Slavsk-Noviy, Russia) opened on 1 June 1894, and Labiau - Heinrichswalde completed the line 1 August 1894. Shcheglovka station is noteworthy for having been named Brittanien (= Britain) in German times.

Kaliningrad - Zelenogradsk and Kaliningrad - Svetlogorsk: Opened by the Königsberg-Cranz Eisenbahn from Königsberg Nordbahnhof north to Cranz (now Zelenogradsk, Russia) 31 December 1885, the line was extended along the coast to Pobethen-Rantau (now Kulikovo, Russia) 20 December 1900 and to Neukuhren (now Pionerskiy, Russia) 26 May 1901. At Neukuhren it had a junction with the Samlandbahn, which opened about the same time from Königsberg Samlandbahnhof (next to the Cranzer Bahnhof) north to Rauschen (now Svetlogorsk, Russia) and Warnicken (now Primorye, Russia). The two electrified lines, forming a triangle, have a much more frequent service than other lines from Kaliningrad. Trains run to Svetlogorsk direct, or via Zelenogradsk where they reverse. Svetlogorsk has two stations, Svetlogorsk 1 (formerly Rauschen Ort), the main station, and Svetlogorsk 2 (formerly Rauschen Düne) at the end of a short branch to the seafront. In Kaliningrad Severniy the former Cranzer Bahnhof terminal platforms are now little-used, being bypassed by the connecting line to Yuzhniy, but all the track remains in place and is fully electrified, for the benefit of a few additional trains to the coast during the summer.

Primorsk - Yantarniy - Donskoye - Primorye - Svetlogorsk: From Fischhausen (now Primorsk, Russia), on their Königsberg - Pillau line, the Ostpreussische Südbahn opened a branch to Palmnicken (now Yantarniy, Russia) on 16 September 1884. The 1930s saw plans to extend the line to connect with the Samlandbahn at Warnicken (now Primorye, Russia), but though the formation was completed by 1939, trains ran no further than Gross Dirschkeim (now Donskoye, Russia). The line was completed at very short notice in spring 1945 to assist evacuation of the German population before the Red Army arrived. The railway now sees a diesel unit shuttling between Primorsk and Svetlogorsk 1.

Kaliningrad - Primorsk - Baltiysk: The Ostpreussische Südbahn opened their line from Königsberg Pillauer Bahnhof via Fischhausen (now Primorsk, Russia) to Pillau (now Baltiysk, Russia) on 11 September 1865. Trains were subsequently diverted to the main station, but heavily overgrown sidings still lead to the site of the Pillauer Bf. The short branch from Km26 to Peyse (now Baltiyskiy Les, Russia) opened in 1941 to serve naval installations. The Baltiysk line runs close to the shore of Kaliningradskiy Zaliv (= bay) and was damaged by storms in the mid-1990s. Since repair and reopening, the passenger service has been reduced to a single return trip, from Kaliningrad at 15:30 and from Baltiysk at 17:30. Baltiysk is an important naval base and the whole town is a restricted area. All visitors need special permission to travel there and the train stops at a halt beyond Primorsk for officials to check that every passenger has a permit. Tourist visits are possible, but must be arranged in advance through one’s travel agent, or possibly by telephoning the military authorities on Kaliningrad 219717. The desire to visit Baltiysk by train must be emphasised. It is essential to have one’s passport and visa when visiting Baltiysk, so the trip should not be made for a day or so after arrival, in order to allow time for the police registration process. Visitors are met at the Baltiysk checkpoint by an official guide who accompanies them while they are in the restricted area.