I’ve written a lot in the past about trains and trams switching from left to right hand running across Europe, but here is a new one: high-speed trains switching sides when crossing the border between France and Spain.
French trains run on the left and Spanish trains run on the right, so on the Perpignan–Barcelona high-speed rail line a flyover was been built at Tresserre, 10 kilometres north of the border, so that the international trains can running on the correct side track in each country.
The northbound track passes over the southbound track via a 250 metres long tunnel, but thanks to the wide curves needed for high-speed trains, the overall length of the flyover is almost 3.3 kilometres end to end.
Footnote: more French examples
The French call these railway flyovers a “saut-de-mouton“, with Wikipedia listing two other examples on the TGV high-speed rail network:
near Baudrecourt, during the connection of the LGV Est with the Réding to Metz-Ville line
near Vendenheim , during the connection of the LGV Est with the Vendenheim to Wissembourg line
Along with flyovers in the Alsace-Moselle region, where trains run on the right hand side as in neighbouring Germany, which annexed the region between 1871 and 1918.
near Metz between Metz and Ars-sur-Moselle on the Lérouville to Metz-Ville line
near Imling between Héming and Sarrebourg on the Paris – Strasbourg line
between Fontoy and Audun-le-Roman on the Mohon to Thionville line
between Rombas – Clouange and Rosselange on the line from Saint-Hilaire-au-Temple to Hagondange
between Molsheim and Mutzig on the Strasbourg-Ville to Saint-Dié line
I’ve written about a few odd track layouts on European tram networks before, but this is something difference – a quadruple track tramway in the Czech city of Brno.
OpenStreetMap showing how lines from the suburbs merge into one of the two track pairs to travel towards the railway station, then branching apart again.
Zurich, Switzerland also has a short section of quadruple track tramway outside it’s main railway station – it actually has an up/up/down/down track arrangement, but is only 100 metres long to carries trams between two side streets.
Germany has a long long history of both full sized and model railways, and at a number of railway stations across the country they combine the two with coin operated modellerlebniswelten.
A company called Wimmelbahn – a play on the German word “Wimmelbild” (“teeming picture book”) and “Bimmelbahn” (“small train”) – operates 20 coin operated model railways at stations across Germany.
I was introduced to them by this recent post by Lars Brüggemann on the Bahnegard 2.0 Facebook page.
Many childhood memories come up here: In many train stations in Germany, there are model railways in display cases, you can also call them model railway vending machines or “model experience worlds”. After inserting a coin, various trains run in a circle at the push of a button, and the passenger train even goes up a hill.
According to information from the Westphalian News, these model trains were operated by the company Werner Ehret & Co KG from Düsseldorf. The station model trains were taken over by Wimmelbahn GmbH with headquarters in Berlin.
For children, these model railways have been a delight for more than 40 years, for railway lovers throughout the decades. Unfortunately, in some train stations such as in Hamburg-Altona, the model railways have already disappeared. For this, after the turn, the model railways also came to some train stations in the former GDR (German Democratic Republic).
The bicycle trailers are found on the Stuttgart Rack Railway, a 2.2-kilometre electrified railway opened in 1884 to connect Marienplatz in the city centre to Degerloch on the Filder plateau. The line is single track with passing loop at Wielandshöhe, and a maximum gradient of 17.8%, rising to 23.2% on a short branch line to the depot.
Passengers load their own bicycles, positioning them perpendicular to the direction of travel.The bike service only operates in the uphill direction between the two terminus stations, to avoid any delays caused by loading and unloading, so the main users are locals who don’t want to ride back up the hill, and mountain bike riders.
For safety reasons the trailers are coupled onto the uphill end of the train, allowing the driver to see from the cab if any bicycles come loose during the journey; and in times of continuous snow cover, the trailers are taking out of service due to a risk of the lighter vehicles derailing.
Bicycle trailers were introduced in 1983 with the third generation ZT 4 railcars to the railway, with two two-axle trailers being manufactured by Waggon Union Berlin. They were deemed unsuccessful due to their light weight and excessive noise, so the Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen built a third trailer to their own design, being 4 meters long and with space for 10 bicycles. After it had been proven, the two earlier vehicles were also rebuilt to the same design – operating numbers being #1980 (built in 1983), #1981 (built in 1983) and #1982 (built in 1986).
These bicycle trailers were replaced in 2022 by the current generation of rolling stock, the ZT 4.2 by Stadler. These new trailers haves four-axle and are 12 meters long, with space for 20 bicycles and one three-wheeled cargo bike. Numbered #1111 to #1113, the trailers also feature headlights, tail lights, brake lights, turn signals, a warning bell, forward facing CCTV system for driver visibility, and a lidar based sensor system to detect obstacles and trigger emergency braking.
Due to the depot transfer table being too short to fit both a rack railway car and the trailer, the trailers of the ZT 4 railcars were stored at the Degerloch terminus overnight. However for the new trailers of the ZT 4.2, they are pushed by hand onto the transfer table and into the depot.
Another recent online find that caught my eye was a photo of a train headed along a street in Poland – so where was it taken, and why was a train headed along there?
Then 100 or so metres later emerge from the trees.
Google Street View
And join a road.
Google Street View
Then through a roundabout.
Google Street View
Skirting the edge of the traffic island.
Google Street View
The tracks then rejoin a road – but much narrower this time.
Google Street View
A sidings towards the main port is then passed.
Google Street View
As the train tracks run past the front door of cafes and restaurants.
Google Street View
The tracks then reach the waterfront.
Google Street View
Switchback sidings leading back to the main shipping port.
Google Street View
While the main line continues through the main tourist strip to the foot of the 17th century Kołobrzeg Lighthouse.
Google Street View
And following the train
Over on YouTube TRSPomerania followed the 2022 ‘PIRAT’ special through the streets of Kołobrzeg.
TRSPomerania on YouTube
And in 2024 they were lucky enough to be able to ride along in the locomotive cab.
TRSPomerania on YouTube
Note that having the tracks following the streets can present difficulties – for the 2021 excursion a parked car overhanging the tracks needed to be dragged away by a tow truck so that the train could pass!
The Crane Hotel Faralda (Kraanhotel Faralda) is located at the former Nederlandsche Dok en Scheepsbouw Maatschappij (NDSM) shipyard on the banks of the IJ in Amsterdam-Noord.
The former NDSM crane (number 13) was built in the 1950s by the Hensen company. After 1984, the crane was no longer used following the bankruptcy of the “Nederlandsche Dok en Scheepsbouw Maatschappij” (Dutch Dock and Shipbuilding Company).
The dilapidated crane was saved from destruction just in time by project developer Edwin Kornmann Rudi. In August 2011, Kornmann Rudi received permission from the municipality of Amsterdam to begin a development plan to restore and redevelop the crane. On June 7, 2013, the final signing took place under the crane between the National Restoration Fund and Kornmann Rudi. Simultaneously, the municipality of Amsterdam approved Kornmann Rudi’s proposed redevelopment and change of purpose for crane 13.
On July 22, 2013, the dismantling and disassembly of Crane 13 began. On July 26, 2013, the crane was transported to Franeker on a 100-meter-long pontoon for restoration. The restored crane returned on October 22, 2013. On April 4, 2014, the crane was officially opened as the Crane Hotel Faralda. Three luxury hotel suites are located atop the crane. A jacuzzi is also located at the top of the crane.
The project was praised for the unique solutions it required to address numerous structural challenges. The crane tower, containing the three suites, continues to rotate on a pivot bearing. This very small rotating axle, just a few centimeters in diameter, carries all the pipes, drag couplings, and fire safety equipment.
When I travelled by trains across Russia back in the early-2010s, the usual livery on the passenger trains I saw was the plain grey of the Russian Railways, with the «РЖД» logo in red across the side.
And the oddballs
But I once found an older green carriage interspersed in the sea of grey.
This sky blue liveried carriage in the middle of the «Аврора» (Aurora) train headed into Moscow.
This dark blue carriage marked for the «Экспресс» (The Express) service between Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
And down at Sochi, an entire train of blue and white liveried carriages on the «Северная Пальмира» (Northern Palmyra) train from Saint Petersburg to Adler.
Branded «Сочи» (Sochi) on the sides.
Why something special
Once upon a time the flagships of the Russian railway network were “branded trains”
The history of branded trains on Russian Railways goes back more than 70 years: on May 10, 1931, the first branded train “Red Arrow” set off. Today, branded trains are on all main lines of the country, mainly connecting Russian regions with the capital.
Branded trains are distinguished by a high level of service, design, comfort, and additional services.
Each train is decorated in a special style, which is reflected in both the exterior and interior design. There are carpets on the floor, curtains with corporate symbols on the windows, tables in the compartments are covered with napkins and set. Each train has an individual name, which is written on the side walls of the carriage or on the route sign. As a rule, the name is associated with the region that the railway serves, its history and traditions. Today, the following branded trains run on Russian railways: “Baikal”, “Demidovsky Express”, “Ural”, “Aurora”, “Ataman Platov”, “Sibiryak”, “Yamal”, “Nikolaevsky Express”.
Branded trains are formed from passenger carriages that have been in operation for no more than 12 years after construction or major repairs. The train must include carriages with increased comfort and special service, the cost of which is included in the fare.
Depending on the range of services provided, luxury carriages are divided into economy and business class.
The first passenger train with increased comfort in the USSR, the Red Arrow, began operating between Leningrad and Moscow in 1931. During the siege of Leningrad , its service was interrupted, but immediately after it was lifted, the train’s route was resumed.
In 1964, as part of improving the quality of service on railway transport, the idea of branded trains arose, which were to serve routes between large cities and Moscow and were to be distinguished by high speed and a small number of short (up to 12 minutes) stops.
Soon the system of branded trains accounted for 15% of all routes and included 57 trains to Moscow (from Krasnoyarsk, Primorsky, Altai regions and 54 regional centers); 12 trains arrived in Leningrad . The average speed on the route reached 58 kilometers per hour – 17% higher than that of regular trains. The average composition of a branded train included 19 cars (versus 16 for a regular train), of which 1-2 were luxury sleeping cars.
The design of the trains was distinguished by the color of the carriages, the “signature” design of the interior, dishes, bed linen, napkins. Sometimes the carriages had air conditioning. The increased comfort of the train basically revived the pre-revolutionary division of carriages by class.
A farewell to variety
The launch of the high-speed Sapsan trains from 2009 saw the branded trains lose their role as the flagship of the Russian Railways.
And the Russian Railways looked for a way to simplify their fleet of locomotive hauled carriages – by dropping the special liveries.
All trains will become grey and nameless
16 April 2010
The calling card of Perm II station, the Kama train, will no longer exist. No, it will not be cancelled completely. The branded train has simply lost its name. This is due to the fact that all Russian Railways trains are being stylized to match a single corporate style.
They will gradually be painted in a single color scheme, including the Kama. Not only Perm will be left without the Kama, all branded trains, for example, Yamal or Baikal, will gradually lose their names.
JSC Russian Railways began reforming long-distance trains last year. Since the summer schedule of 2009, branded trains from Kazan, Adler, Novorossiysk, Sverdlovsk and Nizhny Novgorod have been replaced by so-called Premium class trains. Trains of this class are made in a single style of interior and exterior, with uniform tariff programs and comfort levels. The carriages of Premium trains are painted silver and gray.
Russian Railways calls this unification a “rebranding” carried out to optimize the operation of rolling stock (reduce train downtime and, accordingly, costs), a significant advantage will be the system of “interchangeability” of trains across the entire Russian Railways network, especially on the busy Moscow route, the public relations service of the Sverdlovsk Railway reports.
The fast branded train “Kama” has been running on the Perm-Moscow route since 1967. The signature style of the train is carriages in blue and light blue tones and an increased level of service. The train includes reserved seat carriages, compartment carriages, a SV carriage, a VIP carriage, a restaurant carriage and a mobile storage room.
Perm activists believe that the cancellation of the “Kama” train could be a serious blow to the image of Perm. “I hope that the reform will not affect the “Kama”, says Perm regional historian Vladimir Gladyshev. “It is a part of our image. This will be a huge loss. Perm has a lot associated with the blue carriage.
And rebirth
A decade after the abolishment of special liveries on their fleet, in 2020 they brought back the «Сочи» (Sochi) livery.
1520 All about travel
What the Sochi train looks like from the inside, secretly launched by Russian Railways to Abkhazia with unusual carriages
August 15, 2020
Russian Railways has another interesting project. The first daily tourist train in Russia has appeared in the south. It runs along the route Tuapse – Sochi – Gagra (Abkhazia), and is, in fact, international.
Previously, there was one tourist train in Russia – the Ruskeala Express in Karelia. It goes from the city of Sortavala to the Ruskeala Park. In just a year, it became super popular. Now tickets for it are snapped up a couple of weeks in advance, at least on weekends, although the number of carriages on the train has been increased and additional trains have been appointed. And this is despite the fact that you still have to get to Sortavala from Moscow and St. Petersburg.
They decided to repeat the Karelian success in the south. The Sochi train was launched there. The name and branded livery are not new. This is what the branded train looked like, which ran from Moscow to Adler until the early 2010s. However, effective managers from Russian Railways at some point decided that all trains should be equally faceless – gray and with the red word Russian Railways on the carriage. Now the Sochi train has lost its identity.
But when it was necessary to make a new project, they remembered the old brand.
The Federal Passenger Company (FPC), which services this train, calls it a tourist train. Some media outlets have dubbed it “retro”, but this is not entirely true. Apart from the old livery, the train’s design only contains a few Soviet motifs, such as posters on the walls advertising vacations in the southern resorts of the USSR.
At first, the Sochi train will be pulled by the retro electric locomotive VL10, and after some time by the retro electric locomotive ChS-2 (Cheburashka), — the train’s Instagram reports . However, ChS-2 will only appear next year.
But now with a dedicated set of double deck carriages.
Since December 19, 2024, the high-speed train “Aurora” has been running between Moscow and St. Petersburg again. The train consists of 15 double-decker cars, including regular interregional seating cars, which have standard and improved seating arrangements, a staff car, which can accommodate passengers with disabilities, SV cars and a bistro [ 9 ] . The trains are driven by EP2K 500-number electric locomotives with a new cabin.
Further reading
The magic words I used to find Russian language information on these branded trains was:
фирменных поездов (branded trains)
региональных окрасок (regional colours)
сочинской раскраске вагона (Sochi colouring of the carriage)
Over at Russian Wikipedia there is Category: Trains of Russia with links to more branded trains that once operated in Russia.
DJs are known for spinning tunes on a turntable – but what if they themselves were being spun around on a turntable themselves? Well, Slovakian DJ & producer Johnny de City did that recently, thanks to Slovak rail operator Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko.
Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko, a.s. (ZSSK) (English: The Railway Company of Slovakia) is a Slovak state-owned passenger train company based in Bratislava; and the track played by Johnny de City was a mash up of Da Hool’s 1997 track “Meet Her At The Love Parade” and “Meet Her at the Love Parade” is a song recorded by German disc jockey Da Hool and Anyma & Argy & Son Of Son “Voices In My Head“.
This photo of a Deutsche Bahn train running through on tracks almost covered by floodwater is quite extraordinary, but when I looked closer it at I found something else I had never seen before – Y-shaped railway sleepers. So that’s the story there?
An unusual form of tie is the Y-shaped tie, first developed in 1983.
Compared to conventional ties, the volume of ballast required is reduced due to the load-spreading characteristics of the Y-tie. The cross section of the ties is an I-beam.
Noise levels are high but the resistance to track movement is very good. For curves the three-point contact of a Y steel tie means that an exact geometric fit cannot be observed with a fixed attachment point.
As of 2006, less than 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) of Y-tie track had been built, of which approximately 90 percent is in Germany.
Along with a photo showing Y-shaped sleepers beside conventional track.
But who developed these unusual Y-shaped sleepers? Wikipedia led me to their German name “Y-Stahlschwellen” – which let me to Hyperion Verwaltung GmbH, who details the history of them.
Considering the many advantages of steel sleepers, consideration was given to a truss construction for track construction, in which steel sleepers would be inserted as struts between the running rails. The rails rest on the gusset plates and form the upper and lower chords. Such a track never came to fruition, as the track frame proved too rigid and unworkable for curved track sections.
The “truss concept” was revived and further developed by Jürgen Frenzel, a graduate engineer, and led to the development of a “dissolved” truss structure with Y-shaped steel sleepers. Jürgen Frenzel is therefore credited as the inventor of this Y-shaped steel sleeper superstructure; from 1983 onward, Günter Fasterding joined as co-developer and inventor.
Jürgen Frenzel first looked for a suitable support profile for the new steel sleepers. The Peine beam IB 100 S-1 was chosen because it met the requirements for producing Y-shaped steel sleepers. After selecting the support profile, the forming process had to be carried out. Through cooperation, the Peine-Salzgitter AG steelworks succeeded in obtaining cold-formed sleeper beams that, when placed side by side, form the shape of the letter “Y.”
With suitable rail support and fastening, the first Y-shaped steel sleeper track was built in 1984 at the Peine-Salzgitter steelworks. The first load tests on the Y-shaped steel sleepers in ballast and on slab track were conducted there under the supervision of the Munich Railway Control Center (BZA). These tests were supplemented by derailment and repair tests.
And their early rollout.
1986: 1,000 metres of track of the Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) on ballast and asphalt base courses on the H–BS line.
1987: Main line and station tracks of the East Hanoverian Railways (OHE) and equipment of a main line track of the East-West S-Bahn S8 of the DB Netz with galvanized Y-steel sleepers on asphalt base courses in the Linderhauser Tunnel.
1989: Switches with Y-steel sleepers in Zurich main station and switches (area of the Deutsche Reichsbahn)
1993: The gap at Kaliningrad Central Station (formerly Königsberg) was closed. Y-shaped steel sleepers for standard, broad, and double gauge tracks were installed.
However 30 years on, the Y-shaped sleepers still seem to be a niche product – but still offered by ThyssenKrupp Schulte GmbH as part of their range.
Safety and cost-effectiveness even on the most demanding routes: This is what our Y-shaped steel sleeper stands for, which has been used in European railway networks for 30 years. Its advantages include a larger footprint, optimized track stability, and a significant reduction in the number of sleepers required and the ballast cross-section.
The smaller ballast cross-section, resulting from the geometric shape of this sleeper, creates a higher resistance to lateral displacement and improved frame stiffness of the track grid compared to the classic superstructure – conditions that make conversions possible even without further investment.
The preferred areas of application include narrow routes and routes with many constraints such as bridges, platforms or tunnels, where the specified height of the top edge of the rail cannot be achieved without complex earthworks, subgrade widening or land acquisition.
We manufacture Y-shaped steel sleepers for track gauges from 750 mm to 1520 mm and various rail types. We also design special applications such as rack and narrow-gauge railways, multi-rail tracks, temporary bridges, guardrails, and safety and guidance systems.
The range of applications extends from light mountain railways and mainline railways according to European standards to heavy-duty railways with 38 t axle load overseas.
Over the years there have been many examples of former railway lines being turned into roads. But in the Caucasus Mountains above Sochi in Russia the opposite is happening – the former Krasnopolyanskoe Highway running through the Akhtsu Gorge is being turned into a 1,700 metre long 750 mm gauge tourist railway.
Photo via В Сочи / T.me
Some history
The Krasnopolyanskoe Highway serves the ski resorts around Krasnaya Polyana high in the Caucasus Mountains, and was first built in 1891-1898 according to the design and supervision of mining engineer V.K. Konstantinov. The road followed the route taken by the Mzymta River flowing to the sea, with four kilometres through Akhtsu Gorge hugging the path of a narrow pack trail. During Soviet times the road was upgraded for larger vehicles, rock sheds were provided to shelter travellers from rockfalls in the steep terrain, and from June 2002 traffic lights were used to implement one way traffic flows along the four kilometre long stretch of gorge.
But despite this the narrow road did not meet modern standards, and so in 1998 work started on the 2580 meter long Краснополянский тоннель (Krasnopolyansky Tunnel) to bypass the narrow road through the gorge. Work stalled in August 2002 due to a lack of funds, but resumed in 2004, with the tunnel opened to traffic in August 2005.
However after Russia won their bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, the Krasnopolyanskoe Highway towards Krasnaya Polyana was in for another upgrade, with a combined motorway and rail route being built along the left bank of the Mzymta River, duplicating the existing two lane highway.
A key part of this was Тоннельный комплекс №3 (Tunnel Complex No. 3) – which consisted of a 3201 metre long road tunnel parallel to but across the river from the Краснополянский тоннель (Krasnopolyansky Tunnel).
Google Street View
Along with a parallel 4615 metre long single track railway tunnel.
Google Street View
Work started on this tunnel complex in 2009, and it was completed by 2013.
Reconstruction of the Old Krasnopolyanskoe Highway as a tourist attraction was floated in 2015.
Reconstruction of the famous rocky section of the Krasnopolyanskoye Highway will begin soon. Repair work includes clearing the section, strengthening the steep slopes and restoring the road surface on the oldest highway.
After the reconstruction is completed, the rocky section of the old Adler-Krasnaya Polyana highway will become an excellent excursion site. Many tourists will be able to take walking trips here, first of all, guests of the nearby ski resorts “Gorki-Gorod”, “Laura” and “Rosa Khutor”, – noted the head of the resort and tourism department of the Sochi city administration Alexey Grachev.
The investor in the highway reconstruction project was the company OOO “Yuzhnaya Zvezda”.
But it appears that nothing came of it.
And the railway
May 2024 saw rumours of another plan for the Old Krasnopolyanskoe Highway, with local media outlet Sochinews.io: Новости Сочи eventually getting to the bottom of them – a new tourist attraction called «Музей истории строительства горных дорог России Ахцу» (Museum of the History of Construction of Mountain Roads of Russia Akhtsu), including the 1,700 metre long 750 mm gauge «Поезд парковый на рельсах» (“Park Train on Rails”) tourist railway.
Last week, information about a narrow-gauge railway line under construction in the area of the old Krasnopolyanskaya road aroused great interest. Social media users shared their assumptions about the future of the currently dangerous facility.
We tell you what is actually happening there and what is planned in our exclusive material.
Indeed, the old road to Krasnaya Polyana is becoming more active. Work is underway to strengthen the slopes, and rails and sleepers for the future narrow-gauge railway are being laid. All this is the very beginning of a large project called the Museum of the History of Construction of Russian Mountain Roads in Akhtsu.
The first stage is the construction of a 1,700-meter-long railway. A train will soon be launched on it. A small tourist train with literally three open carriages, each with a capacity of up to 50 people.
“After the installation of the railway line is completed, the construction of tourist infrastructure will begin. There will be a museum here telling the history of the construction of mountain roads in Russia, recreation areas where you can have a snack and drink local tea with a view of the beauty of Krasnaya Polyana,” said the author, founder and owner of the project Alexey Grachev.
According to Alexey Grachev, it is also planned to place attractions here. But this is all in the future. At the initial stage, the new tourist route will be a mini-trip on a mini-train with one stop. To organize the movement, two observation platforms will be equipped – in front of the tunnel and behind it.
“The train will operate all year round, but twice a year the facility will be closed for maintenance – to ensure safety,” said Alexey Grachev.
By the way, special attention is paid to safety here.
As already mentioned, work is being carried out on the site to strengthen the mountain slopes. It is planned to equip special places, reliably protected from rockfall, where it will be possible to safely exit the train.
The composition itself is made of particularly strong modern materials, so that its body can withstand the impact of a stone falling from a slope.
Residents and guests of the resort will have the opportunity to see the legendary mountain road in just a couple of months. The opening of the first part of the initial stage of the historical and tourist project is scheduled for June-July 2024.
With a small diesel locomotive used to transport materials along the completed section of railway.
Photo via В Сочи / T.me
But media outlet SOCHI1.RU reported that local ecologists were against the project.
Scientists from the Sochi Geographical Society have filed a petition with the Sochi prosecutor demanding that the construction of a narrow-gauge tourist railway be stopped in one of the most beautiful places in the resort – the Akhtsu Gorge.
As reported by the SGO “Sochi Geographer” telegram channel, back in 1988, the Akhtsu Gorge received the status of a natural monument. On its slopes grow endemics listed in the Red Book: Circassian cyclamen, Voronov’s snowdrop, long-flowered muscari, as well as one of the rarest plants – hard-leaved bellflower, or mzymtella.
During the Olympic construction, the Sochi Geographical Society managed to save the mzymtella from extinction as part of a biodiversity conservation project.
Ten years have passed, and now the life of the rare bellflower is threatened by businessmen from OOO Simmetriya, who are laying rails for their little train on a closed rocky section of the old highway to Krasnaya Polyana.
Sochi National Park is the only place on the planet where this type of bellflower grows. In the Akhtsu Gorge, according to observations in August 2021, employees of the scientific department counted only about a hundred specimens of this relict plant.
Construction of the project was made possible because the former road being used for the tourist railway was not part of the national park.
After scientists from the Sochi Geographical Society raised the alarm about the construction of a dangerous entertainment in the form of a narrow-gauge railway on the old Krasnopolyanskoye Highway in the Akhtsu Gorge, our publication decided to find out the details in the Sochi National Park.
The management of the protected area neither denied nor confirmed that construction had begun in the gorge. It turned out that the old Krasnopolyanskoye Highway is not within the boundaries of the specially protected natural area, but belongs to the municipality. The national park is responsible only for part of the gorge.
The information that OOO Simmetriya, which began installing the trolleys on the narrow-gauge railway, did not enter into an agreement with the national park for the construction of dangerous entertainment has been confirmed.
“The Federal State Budgetary Institution “Sochi National Park” did not enter into any land lease agreements with OOO “Simmetriya ,” the national park’s management responded to Kuban Inform.
Our publication is preparing a request to the Sochi mayor’s office to find out who the businessmen who are trying to install trolleys for unsuspecting tourists in the previously closed part of the gorge are dealing with.
The city administration gave the land for the construction of a railway in the Akhtsu gorge to the company “Simmetriya”. This was reported to “Kuban Inform” by the Sochi administration. The company will use the land near the national park for almost 50 years.
“An agreement on the provision of a land plot for use under lease terms (lease agreement) was concluded between the municipal formation of the resort city of Sochi and the limited liability company “Simmetry”. The term of the agreement is set until 11/25/2069″ — the official response of the administration to our publication says.
In particular, the resort gave away two plots. One, with an area of 2,857 square meters, was designated for “nature tourism,” and the second, 21,746 square meters, was designated for “transport.”
The mayor’s office did not specify how the safety of tourists will be arranged, or whether the endemic and red-listed plants will really be destroyed. However, officials stated that the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources is responsible for this.
“Issues of regulating the use of flora and fauna listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation are assigned to the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources” the official response from the resort administration states.
The public civil movement “For Sochi!” does not share the enthusiasm of the developers: candidate of economic sciences Elena Bokacheva notes that the project has not been discussed and has not been approved by the city administration. The project has not been agreed upon or accepted by the city’s urban development council.
At this stage, the attraction was created only on the basis of an agreement with the Sochi administration for the lease of a section of the road for 49 years and a license for the use of subsoil issued by the Department of Subsoil Use for the Southern Federal District.
I contacted the Sochi Interdistrict Environmental Prosecutor’s Office and the Southern Department of Rosprirodnadzor, which identified gross violations of federal legislation. Rosprirodnadzor responded that the company did not have a positive conclusion from the environmental assessment of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation for the use of subsoil.
During the patrol, employees identified a violation of the protection regime of the Sochi National Park: the company “Simmetriya” installed metal structures fixed in the rock, with a stretched metal protective net against rockfall without design and technical and special permit documentation agreed with the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, — Elena notes.
According to her, on July 15 of this year, the environmental prosecutor’s office filed a motion regarding violations of the law on the protection of the environment and cultural heritage sites, the requirements of which were ignored. According to the environmental prosecutor’s office, the project has not passed the assessment of harmful impact on the environment, construction work is being carried out in the water protection zone of the Mzymta River, which negatively affects aquatic biological resources.
In addition, the project has not been agreed upon with the Federal Agency for Fisheries, and the land leased by the company is located within the boundaries of the protection zone of the cultural heritage site of federal significance “Kepshinskaya parking lot” in the area of the Akhtsu Gorge.
Part of the lessee’s land is located on the territory of the cultural heritage site “Place of execution of 21 Red Army soldiers of the 273rd Sochi regiment”. In addition, the site is partially located within the boundaries of the protected area of the cultural heritage site “Two scrap metal left by the builders of the Krasnopolyanskoye Highway in the area of the Akhtsu Gorge”, 1879-1902, Akhtsu Gorge, 33rd km.
The project to create the “Park Train on Rails” attraction has not been agreed upon with the Department of State Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites of the Krasnodar Territory Administration.
The Adler District Prosecutor’s Office of Sochi, following numerous requests from citizens and organizations, conducted an inspection of a new tourist facility in the Akhtsu Gorge on the old road to Krasnaya Polyana.
The specialists of the Russian Emergencies Ministry Department for Sochi, the Sochi Hydrometeorological Center and the Sochi Administration Civil Defense and Population Protection Department involved in the inspection unanimously noted the high degree of avalanche danger of the specified area and the lack of sufficient engineering and technical protection of potential consumers of the service, — the press service of the Krasnodar Territory Prosecutor’s Office reports.
The supervisory authority took into account that no activity has been carried out to date, and the head of the organization was warned about the inadmissibility of violating legislation in the field of population protection from emergency situations.
The 1,700-meter-long railway has already been built. A small tourist train with three open carriages, each with a capacity of up to 50 people, is supposed to run along it.
But despite their concerns, in September 2024 the first train ran, as a closed trial run at what was now called «Парка аттракционов Ахцу» (“Mountain Park Akhtsu”).
The Telegram channel “Море-зовет” recently wrote that very soon a new tourist attraction will open on the old Krasnaya Polyana road in Sochi – a narrow-gauge railway along a rocky section.
According to the organizers, special attention was paid to safety here. It is claimed that they strengthened the mountain slopes, equipped special places reliably protected from rockfall, for a safe exit from the train.
The road will be opened for tourists at the end of September, and it will be possible to “safely enjoy the infinitely high mountains, frightening cliffs and vaults of the mystical tunnel cut into a huge rock more than 100 years ago.” The cost of the trip is 1,400 rubles, the Telegram channel writes.
The train itself looking comical – a fibreglass steam locomotive body with non functional wheels plonked over the top of a diesel locomotive.
Photo via Море-зовет / T.me
However since the first trial run, there has been silence from the park operator – their VK Page and Instagram accounts have been silent since their “Opening in September 2024” announcement, and their website went dark sometime after April 2025.
And the train – parked at the station at the northern end of the line, getting covered in leaves.
Footnote: more on the old road
“Akhtsu Gorge: Exploring the abandoned Soviet road from Sochi to Krasnaya Polyana”.
And riding along the abandoned road on a motorcycle.
Footnote: and more tunnels
A piece of tunnels in Sochi (Russian language), along with a useful map:
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
