Elektrichka
Encyclopedia
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
or post-Soviet regional (mostly suburban) electrical multiple unit passenger train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
. Elektrichkas are widespread in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and other countries of the former Soviet Union.
In 2007, 4085 commuter trains a day (in each direction) were running on the Russian Railways
Russian Railways
The Russian Railways , is the government owned national rail carrier of the Russian Federation, headquartered in Moscow. The Russian Railways operate over of common carrier routes as well as a few hundred kilometers of industrial routes, making it the second largest network in the world exceeded...
network alone, most of them electric. The first elektrichka ran on July 6, 1926 along the Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
–Sabunchi
Sabunchi
Sabunchi is a town in the Ararat Province of Armenia....
line in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
.
Technology
Rigas Vagonbuves Rupnica
Originally named Phoenix, Rīgas Vagonbūves Rūpnīca was founded in 1895 by the businessman Oscar Freywirth and is one of the largest machine-building plants in Latvia. RVR is based in Riga and was for many years the largest producer of electric and diesel trains and also tramcars in the former...
in Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, and bore the "ER" (elektropoezd rizhskiy; Cyrillic: ЭР, электропоезд рижский) model designation. The company had monopolized the market since the 1950s. The most popular elektrichkas are the ER-2 and ER-9 (using DC
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
and AC
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
traction respectively), and their variants and successors.
ER-2 and ER-9 trains contain an even number of cars; of each adjacent pair, one is equipped with motors
Traction motor
Traction motor refers to an electric motor providing the primary rotational torque of a machine, usually for conversion into linear motion ....
and the other carries pneumatic equipment. Cars with cabs carry pneumatic equipment, and motor cars are easily recognizable because of pantograph
Pantograph (rail)
A pantograph for rail lines is a hinged electric-rod device that collects electric current from overhead lines for electric trains or trams. The pantograph typically connects to a one-wire line, with the track acting as the ground wire...
s on their roofs. Not every car is equipped with toilet
Toilet
A toilet is a sanitation fixture used primarily for the disposal of human excrement, often found in a small room referred to as a toilet/bathroom/lavatory...
s; on some trains there are as few as two per train, near the driver's cab. Each car has four automatic doors, two on each side. When the train stops, doors on the platform side open simultaneously. Doors may be equipped with stairs, to allow for low station platforms. The doors are narrower than in metro
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
trains.
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
some successor nations started production of new elektrichka models with limited success. Due to underfunding during the 1990s railways continue to use existing trains, preferring renovation over replacement. Consequently most elektrichkas in use are similar in appearance, differing only in livery
Livery
A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...
; the Soviet-era standard was dark green, with red stripes on the front and a yellow stripe on the side of the train. Some newer models have wider doors. In the Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
area "Sputnik" trains were introduced for express urban lines, with the technical foundation of an ER-2 but intended for a more working-class ridership. An elektrichka is bare-bones transporation with simple benches (each seating three) next to the windows.
Since distances between stations are usually long, elektrichkas also stop at specially-built stops known as "platforms" . Sometimes these stops consist of nothing more than a simple platform, shorter than the length of the train and located in isolated areas. Some platforms lack permanent personnel or lighting. In some areas, elektrichkas stop at seasonal stops without a structure (in forest areas these are colloquially known as "mushroom stops", because they are extensively used by mushroom gatherers
Mushroom hunting
Mushroom hunting, mushrooming, mushroom picking, and similar terms describe the activity of gathering mushrooms in the wild, typically for eating...
).
Elektrichkas are maintained in special depots , where trains are repaired and train operators employed. However, neither elektrichkas nor their crews return to a depot every day; instead, they are assigned to the end stations of the routes.
The relsovyi avtobus ( or "railbus"), or dizelnyi poezd is a Soviet-type commuter train similar to the elektrichka. Technically, it is a diesel
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
railcar
Railcar
A railcar, in British English and Australian English, is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach , with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g., the Great Western...
(or multiple unit
Multiple unit
The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...
train) of two or four cars, or a single passenger car hauled by a small diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
. Such trains are less widespread, however, since the majority of track on Soviet railroads has been electrified
Railway electrification system
A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...
.
Russia
Elektrichkas for Russian RailwaysRussian Railways
The Russian Railways , is the government owned national rail carrier of the Russian Federation, headquartered in Moscow. The Russian Railways operate over of common carrier routes as well as a few hundred kilometers of industrial routes, making it the second largest network in the world exceeded...
are manufactured in Demikhovo, Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at , is relatively small compared to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and, with the 2010 population of 7,092,941, is the second most populous federal subject...
. The trains link Moscow with its outskirts and with its surrounding cities, including Tula
Tula, Russia
Tula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast, Russia. It is located south of Moscow, on the Upa River. Population: -History:...
, Tver
Tver
Tver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...
, Ryazan
Ryazan
Ryazan is a city and the administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Oka River southeast of Moscow. Population: The strategic bomber base Dyagilevo is just west of the city, and the air base of Alexandrovo is to the southeast as is the Ryazan Turlatovo Airport...
, Vladimir
Vladimir
Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...
and Kolomna
Kolomna
Kolomna is an ancient city and the administrative center of Kolomensky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva and Oka Rivers, southeast of Moscow. The area of the city is about . The city was founded in 1177...
. Much of the countryside through which they pass is scenic. A variety of vendors and beggars ride the Russian elektrichkas. The outdoor stations are unclean, particularly the sheltered areas near the train entrances, but the elektrichka is an indispensible mode of transportation in Russia.
Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, possessing a dense network of electrified railways
Railway electrification system
A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...
, is supporting and developing its elektrichka system, officially known as elektropoyizd in the Ukrainian language. As of May 2010, there is no region of the country not covered by elektrichka service except the Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. As is the case with most other oblasts of Ukraine this region has the same name as its administrative center – which was renamed by the Soviets after the Ukrainian writer, nationalist...
and Chernivtsi
Chernivtsi Oblast
Chernivtsi Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine, bordering on Romania and Moldova. It has a large variety of landforms: the Carpathian Mountains and picturesque hills at the foot of the mountains gradually change to a broad partly forested plain situated between the Dniester and Prut rivers....
regions (which do not have electrified railways and use diesel trains). A typical elektrichka route is around 100 km (62 mi) in length and has stops every 5 – (about 3½ hours' travel time each way). It is possible to travel across the country by changing elektrichka trains two or three times. Tickets can be inexpensive, although such travel is uncomfortable. Most trains collect money in the absence of a ticket. It is possible to travel for free when, at a stop, one exits the car where fares are being collected and goes to one where fares have already been collected.
Many Ukrainian elektrichkas are evolving into inter-city services. There are new direct lines such as the Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
-Rivne
Rivne
Rivne or Rovno is a historic city in western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Rivne Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Rivne Raion within the oblast...
route, which is about 300 km (186 mi) long. This rail service is a cross between an elektrichka and a traditional train with sleeping car
Sleeping car
The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway/railroad passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. The first such cars saw sporadic use on American railroads in the 1830s and could be configured...
s. Such new trains have an increased level of comfort, with fewer stops. The longest routes for these more-comfortable elektrichkas are Zaporizhya–Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
, Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk or Dnepropetrovsk formerly Yekaterinoslav is Ukraine's third largest city with one million inhabitants. It is located southeast of Ukraine's capital Kiev on the Dnieper River, in the south-central region of the country...
–Simferopol
Simferopol
-Russian Empire and Civil War:The city was renamed Simferopol in 1784 after the annexation of the Crimean Khanate to the Russian Empire by Catherine II of Russia. The name Simferopol is derived from the Greek, Συμφερόπολις , translated as "the city of usefulness." In 1802, Simferopol became the...
, Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
–Khmelnitskiy
Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine
Khmelnytskyi is a city in Ukraine in the region of Podillia. It is located on the Southern Buh River and about from the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. The town's original name was Płoskirów, later Proskurov, but in 1954 was renamed Khmelnytskyi. It is the center of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast in western...
, Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
–Vinnitsya, Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
–Kirovograd, Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
–Lutsk
Lutsk
Lutsk is a city located by the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of the surrounding Lutskyi Raion within the oblast...
, Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
–Khmelnitskiy
Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine
Khmelnytskyi is a city in Ukraine in the region of Podillia. It is located on the Southern Buh River and about from the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. The town's original name was Płoskirów, later Proskurov, but in 1954 was renamed Khmelnytskyi. It is the center of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast in western...
and Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
–Shostka
Shostka
Shostka is a town in Sumy Oblast in north-east of Ukraine. The population is 85,800 . The town lies on the river Shostka, a tributary of Desna, from which it gets its name...
, Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
–Rivne
Rivne
Rivne or Rovno is a historic city in western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Rivne Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Rivne Raion within the oblast...
and Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
–Ternopil
Ternopil
Ternopil , is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical region of Galicia...
.
Ukrainian railways
Ukrzaliznytsia
Ukrzaliznytsia , also known as Ukrainian Railways, is the State Administration of Railroad Transportation in Ukraine, monopoly that controls vast majority of the railroad transportation in the country with a combined total length of track of over 23,000 km, which makes Ukrainian railroad...
is capable of producing its own elektrichkas, but such efforts are limited by the unprofitability of the service. The only success has been a modernization of Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
trains undertaken by local companies. However, the elektrichka line in Debaltseve
Debaltseve
Debaltseve is a city in the Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine. Its population is 30,246 . The city was established in 1878. It has a large railway station....
area is reported to be served by Ukrainian-made trains. Ukrainian elektrichkas are now produced in Lugansk, at the Luhanskteplovoz
Luhanskteplovoz
Luhanskteplovoz , earlier known as Voroshilovgrad Locomotive works is a large industrial company in Luhansk, Ukraine, manufacturing locomotives, multiple unit trains as well as other heavy equipment....
plant. New elektrichkas feature premium services like bar and children's cars, but they are only available on major routes. The largest elektrichka depot in Ukraine, serving Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
and the surrounding oblast
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
s, is situated in Fastiv
Fastiv
Fastiv is a city located in the Kiev Oblast in central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Fastivskyi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast...
.
Latvia
The main electric railway in LatviaLatvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
is centered in the capital city of Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
. The first electrified trains connected Riga with the Dubulti station in the seaside resort of Jūrmala
Jurmala
Jūrmala is a city in Latvia, about 25 kilometers west of Riga. Jūrmala is a resort town stretching and sandwiched between the Gulf of Riga and the Lielupe River...
in 1950. By 1970, electrification extended westward towards Tukums
Tukums
Tukums is a town in Latvia. Three regions of Latvia meet in the vicinity of Tukums – Vidzeme, Zemgale and Courland. The city was host to the Cold War facility Tukums air base.- History :...
. Used largely by commuters, the railway also has branches extending to Jelgava
Jelgava
-Sports:The city's main football team, FK Jelgava, plays in the Latvian Higher League and won the 2009/2010 Latvian Football Cup.- Notable people :*August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein - linguist, folklorist, ethnographer...
, Skulte and Aizkraukle. Parts of Latvia outside the Riga region are served by diesel trains. Upon regaining independence, the Latvian government removed the Soviet seals that appeared on many of the older green trains. The second-largest train station in Riga (named after Soviet partisan Otomars Oškalns after World War II) was renamed Zemitāni, as it was from the 1920s to the 1940s.
Because plans for a subway for Riga fell through in the 1980s, the railway remains the fastest way to travel around the city and its vicinity. The Riga Wagon Plant
Rigas Vagonbuves Rupnica
Originally named Phoenix, Rīgas Vagonbūves Rūpnīca was founded in 1895 by the businessman Oscar Freywirth and is one of the largest machine-building plants in Latvia. RVR is based in Riga and was for many years the largest producer of electric and diesel trains and also tramcars in the former...
is reconstructing these trains, and is planning to manufacture new trains which would replace the elektrichkas by 2012.
Slovakia
- see also: Slovak: Tatranská elektrická železnica
Električka is the Slovak
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
word for elektrichka. The name is also used for the light electric railway Tatranská elektrická železnica (TEŽ, Tatra Electric Railway
Tatra Electric Railway
The Tatra Electric Railway , colloquially Tatra Railway, is an electrified single track narrow gauge railway in the Slovak part of the Tatra mountains...
) in the Tatra Mountains
Tatra Mountains
The Tatra Mountains, Tatras or Tatra , are a mountain range which forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland, and are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains...
, from the towns of Poprad
Poprad
Poprad is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. It is the biggest town of the Spiš region and the tenth largest city in Slovakia with a population of approximately 55,000.The Poprad-Tatry Airport is...
and Starý Smokovec
Starý Smokovec
Starý Smokovec is a part of the town of Vysoké Tatry in northern Slovakia in the Tatras. Its name is pronounced approximately "Star-EE Smoke-oh-vets", meaning "Old Smokovec".Starý Smokovec is a popular resort for skiing and hiking...
.
Social impact
Post-Soviet states
The post-Soviet states, also commonly known as the Former Soviet Union or former Soviet republics, are the 15 independent states that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its dissolution in December 1991...
, providing a cheap and easily-accessible connection between city and countryside. The railway network is well-developed, while bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
service to towns and villages may be rare or unreliable. Automobile and truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
ownership in rural areas is rare, and elektrichkas are relatively reliable and safe. They are useful for dachnik
Dacha
Dacha is a Russian word for seasonal or year-round second homes often located in the exurbs of Soviet and post-Soviet cities. Cottages or shacks serving as family's main or only home are not considered dachas, although many purpose-built dachas are recently being converted for year-round residence...
s and peasants selling their harvest
Harvest
Harvest is the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper...
at city markets. Some areas also have roads in poor condition, so railroads have an advantage in speed and comfort.
The trains are also a popular means of suburban and commuter transport for the region's large cities such as Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
and Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. However, traffic congestion in these areas leads to frequent delays or cancellation of trains. For this reason, passengers in these areas who can afford them often prefer buses or marshrutka
Marshrutka
Marshrutka , from marshrutnoye taksi is a share taxi in the CIS countries, the Baltic states, and Bulgaria. Marshrutnoye taksi literally means routed taxicab...
s to elektrichkas. In addition, from 1 to 5:30 am (time varies, depending on area and schedule) may be used for track maintenance or to allow high-speed trans to pass without being slowed by elektrichkas (which stop at many stations, every 1–2 km or so).
The governments and railway companies of these countries support elektrichka service. Although ticket
Ticket (admission)
A ticket is a voucher that indicates that one has paid for admission to an event or establishment such as a theatre, movie theater, amusement park, zoo, museum, concert, or other attraction, or permission to travel on a vehicle such as an airliner, train, bus, or boat, typically because one has...
prices are being raised, operational costs are subsidized. Even with this subsidy, many passengers bribe ticket agents to avoid paying full fare. Fake ticket agents have been known to steal money from passengers, and large luggage
Luggage
Baggage is any number of bags, cases and containers which hold a traveller's articles during transit.Luggage is more or less the same concept as "baggage", but is normally used in relation to the personal luggage of a specific person or persons Baggage is any number of bags, cases and containers...
and pet
Pet
A pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...
s are sometimes carried unpaid. Some elektrichka stops with low ridership lack ticket offices. Although a ticketless rider (if caught) must pay full fare, no fine may be imposed on them if they say they boarded the train at a stop without a ticket office. Since the list of stops with no ticket office is well-known, this is sometimes used for fare evasion.
Poor people often use the elektrichkas for long-distance travel, because they are easy to ride without tickets and connect large and small stations. For example, it is possible to get from Moscow to St.Petersburg for free via five elektrichkas, with stops at Tver, Bologoe, Okulovka and Malaya Vishera. This method of travel is called yezda na sobakah or "dog-riding". This mode of travel is sometimes used by football fans. Elektrichkas have a high rate of on-board crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
. As of 2008, there are new trains (generally on popular routes from Moscow and St.Petersburg) which are comfortable; some are operated by private concerns and are safe, clean and well-maintained. These elektrichkas are usually high-speed and have few stops; tickets are more expensive, and such elektrichkas serve as true inter-city trains; cheaper trains often connect city and suburbs only.
In remote regions of Russia with no electrified railroads, elektrichkas and dizels are replaced by short trains of one or two passenger cars and one or two flatcar
Flatcar
A flatcar is a piece of railroad or railway rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck on four or six wheels or a pair of trucks or bogies . The deck of the car can be wood or steel, and the sides of the deck can include pockets for stakes or tie-down points to secure loads...
s hauled by diesel locomotives. These are known as bichevoz , "hobo train"). The flatcars are used by local hobos for free transportation. Abandoned rail tracks are sometimes used by the local population as roads. They use pionerkas : a homemade draisine
Draisine
A draisine primarily refers to a light auxiliary rail vehicle, driven by service personnel, equipped to transport crew and material necessary for the maintenance of railway infrastructure....
powered by a motorcycle engine.
Cultural significance
As a social symbolSymbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
in the former Soviet Union
Post-Soviet states
The post-Soviet states, also commonly known as the Former Soviet Union or former Soviet republics, are the 15 independent states that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its dissolution in December 1991...
, the elektrichka is the subject of art and literature. Poslednyaya elektrichka , a song with music by David Tukhmanov
David Tukhmanov
David Fyodorovich Tukhmanov ; Soviet-Armenian music composer.Best known for a number of Soviet hits like Victory Day and the Last Electrichka.-See also:*Vesyolye Rebyata*Jaak Joala*Igor Talkov*Valeri Leontiev*Sofia Rotaru...
and lyrics by M. Nozhkin, was popular in the Soviet Union; versions included those by Vladimir Makarov
Vladimir Makarov
Vladimir Vasilevich Makarov was a Soviet footballer. Makarov played for clubs in Tajikistan and Ukraine from 1969 to 1977. For the last two years of his life, he starred at Pakhtakor Tashkent as a forward in 1978 and 1979, before he died in a mid-air plane crash in August 1979. He was...
, Eduard Hil, Muslim Magomayev
Muslim Magomayev
Muslim Mahammad oglu Magomayev , "King of Songs" or "Soviet Sinatra" as some refer him was an iconic Soviet and Azerbaijani baritone operatic and pop singer of the 1960s and 1970s...
and Vadim Mulerman).
The rock band Kino
Kino (band)
Kino was a Soviet rock band headed by Viktor Tsoi. It was one of the most famous Soviet rock groups of the 1980s.-History:The band was formed in the summer of 1981 in Leningrad, USSR Kino was a Soviet rock band headed by Viktor Tsoi. It was one of the most famous Soviet rock groups of the...
used the gloomy image of a morning elektrichka to depict society's atmosphere of fear and apathy. A song with the same title was released on their first album, "45".
Scenes in some popular Soviet movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s take place aboard elektrichkas; for example, the female protagonist of Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears
Moscow Does Not Believe In Tears
Moscow Does not Believe in Tears is a 1980 Soviet film made by Mosfilm. It was written by Valentin Chernykh and directed by Vladimir Menshov. The leading roles were played by Menshov's wife Vera Alentova and by Aleksey Batalov. The film won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in...
meets her love interest on an elektrichka on her way home to Moscow from a dacha
Dacha
Dacha is a Russian word for seasonal or year-round second homes often located in the exurbs of Soviet and post-Soviet cities. Cottages or shacks serving as family's main or only home are not considered dachas, although many purpose-built dachas are recently being converted for year-round residence...
. Venedikt Erofeev
Venedikt Erofeev
Venedict Vasilyevich Yerofeyev or Erofeev or Erofeyev was a Russian writer.-Biography:Yerofeyev was born in the small settlement Niva-2, a suburb of Kandalaksha, Murmansk Oblast. His father was imprisoned during Stalin's purges but survived 16 years in the gulags. Most of Yerofeyev's childhood...
's novel Moskva-Petushki is based around elektrichka travel.
A joke about elektrichkas asks, "What's long, green and smells like sausage?" During the late 1980s, when long queues at food stores were common in Russia, it was common to carry large quantities of hard-to-find products from regional centers like Moscow to one's home (usually by elektrichka).
See also
- Transport in RussiaTransport in RussiaThe transport network of the Russian Federation is one of the world's most extensive. The national web of roads, railways and airways stretches almost from Kaliningrad in the west to the Kamchatka Peninsula in the east, and major cities such as Moscow and Saint Petersburg are served by extensive...
- Russian RailwaysRussian RailwaysThe Russian Railways , is the government owned national rail carrier of the Russian Federation, headquartered in Moscow. The Russian Railways operate over of common carrier routes as well as a few hundred kilometers of industrial routes, making it the second largest network in the world exceeded...
- Transportation in Ukraine
- UkrzaliznytsiaUkrzaliznytsiaUkrzaliznytsia , also known as Ukrainian Railways, is the State Administration of Railroad Transportation in Ukraine, monopoly that controls vast majority of the railroad transportation in the country with a combined total length of track of over 23,000 km, which makes Ukrainian railroad...
- 101st kilometre101st kilometre101st kilometre is a colloquial name for the law restricting freedom of movement in the Soviet Union.In the Soviet Union, the rights of an inmate released from the prison would typically still be restricted for a long period of time...
- List of suburban and commuter rail systems
- Rail terminologyRail terminologyRail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term railroad and the international term railway is the most obvious difference in rail terminology...
- Overhead linesOverhead linesOverhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains at a distance from the energy supply point...
- Regional railRegional railCommuter rail, also called suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates between a city center, and the middle to outer suburbs beyond 15km and commuter towns or other locations that draw large numbers of commuters—people who travel on a daily basis...
- Limited-stopLimited-stopIn public transport, a limited-stop bus, tram or train service is a service that operates along the same route as a local bus service, but omits certain stops in order to offer a faster trip between the places served. The term is normally used on routes with a mixture of fast and slow services...