Travel by train in Ukraine is the most common long distance mass transit used by the vast majority of people traveling both within Ukraine and within Eastern Europe.It is relatively inexpensive, easy to use, and fairly reliable despite the fact the vast majority of inner-country trains are very old and in bad need of maintenance and modernization.Trains are regularly scheduled, and go to almost every major area within every region in the country.
Tickets generally may be purchased by either going directly to the train Vokzal or depot (not to be confused with the cross-country bus Vokzal or riverside ship Vokzal) in the central part of Kyiv, or any of the cities in the country.In larger cities, you may also purchase tickets from a designated agency office which is recommended to avoid the usually long lines and sometimes cranky ticket agents at the central Vokzal.Bear in mind that the railway system is a for-profit enterprise, and as such has seasonally adjusted prices for travel according to accommodations wanted.Plan ahead, call, or better yet, check the websites for train schedules and pricing before you go anywhere to buy a ticket. One of the most comprehensive travel websites with schedules is: http://www.bestofukraine.com .
There are many cities that offer suburban style commuter trains from the central “hub” cities. These go on a regular basis from the hub city to the smaller destination city and offer only bench or seat accommodations.These are usually very inexpensive, even in tourist seasons in summer.You have to check for them on an individual destination basis.
There basically three classes of train travel for non-suburban travel ranging from the basic open sleeping berths cars to the more expensive private, two-berth “soft class” compartments.There is also the four berth compartments, or “deluxe” class which most people travel in.These last two classes offer much safer travel in that the doors close and lock from inside whereas the open berth sleeping cars don’t offer any closed security areas.In summer, it is even possible to pay for the “extra deluxe” accommodation of having air conditioning in your compartment, but this is NOT guaranteed to be functional beyond the top part of the window going down to let in air flow during travel. It is nice, however, if it works, and then worth the price. I've had both situations in the past going to Crimea in the very hot summertime.
An interesting note regarding travel outside of Ukraine is that Stalin was afraid of the Germans invading using railway tracks so he had all the USSR tracks built three inches wider than the standard ones in Europe.Therefore when you reach any border going out of Ukraine, the train will stop, be literally hoisted ten feet in the air so that the wheels may be realigned for your continued journey.It’s an interesting thing to experience.
Bedding and linens are supplied now in the cost of your ticket, or they normally are.If they are not for some reason, the conductor will come and ask you to pay when he or she asks for your travel ticket.The cost is very little, and you will also be offered some tea or coffee, which are complimentary the first time around.
As with any long distance travel in Ukraine, whether bus or conventional train, you are highly advised to bring all your travel needs and supplies, especially toilet paper, as well as food, snacks and drinks.There are dining cars on most long distance trains, and the conductors can also sell you tea, coffee, and snacks.There is a table in the compartment that you will share with your traveling companions as all four berths are mixed company…that is men and women, regardless of whether you are acquainted before or not.As Ukraine is a very social country, it’s not a problem, and everyone seems willing to usually share vodka, wine, kielbasa and so on. However, be prepared too, for the fact that moral standard are considerably different here. People don’t wear a lot to bed normally, especially in summer and are not reluctant to move around so attired…
A final word of caution, don’t expect toilets on trains to be sanitary and up to USA standards.They aren’t.Most are not outright “nasty-bad,” but not good either. They are very old and not much past the outhouses commonly found at village homes or roadside cafes.Some have functional showers that the locals use, but I won’t, or haven’t had to yet.Bring your own soap and towel when washing up. Not sure if they have hot water.Water taps are tricky upside down button affairs and the commode flushes onto the tracks so you have to be there when the train is moving or you can’t use it.
Note: Technically speaking, the tramvoys, or electric overhead light rail systems, should be part of the ‘trains’ category.But, because they are so much like the other surface mass transits, I elected to include them with those.
The Metro
(pronounced MEE-tro)
One of the real values in Kiev’s transit system is its underground train, or subway system, known as “the metro.”It is a fast, easy to use, reliable, and relatively inexpensive means of getting across town.Built under the auspices of the USSR, it is a well-proven, enduring asset of the city.Like other metros throughout both Western and Eastern Europe, it is also the most popular means of travel by locals within the city.In Kyiv, over half the population, or more than 1.7 million people, will ride the metro on any given day.If you doubt that number in any way, try getting into one of the cars at rush hour, especially around 6 pm, and you’ll find most of those people riding in your car with you!
The metro operates 365 days a year.Normal transit times are from 05:30 am to 24:00 (12:00 midnight).On major holidays like New Years Eve, Orthodox Christmas and Easter, or specified special events, the trains run until 02:00 am.Last New Year, they even extended it further to 03:00 am. Train interval times are short during normal working hours, often less than one minute apart during “rush hour,” spreading out to 2 minute during the day, then 4 minutes after working hours, slowing finally to every 20, then 30 minutes in the later evening. When boarding, move quickly to a spot away from the door. Pay attention to the warning that lets you know the doors are closing: “Oberezhniy dveri zakinchennya! ” Remember, the seats are intended for the aged, invalid, people with small children (under age 8) or school groups, and pregnant women.
Stations are all marked by a very large green neon light “M” next to the entry and exit stairwell. All station areas have multiple access points and the actual station has separate exit and entry doors for incoming and outgoing passengers. All stations also have at least two separate access areas, some are about 500 meters apart on opposite sides of a street, and most have four, with two different points of access at which is each end of the train landing platform, front and rear.All this can be very disorienting if you get off on the wrong end.Believe me, it’s easy to do if you are not really paying attention to which way you are going, and changing trains and route lines several times.I still do it from time to time and end up going out the wrong door and wondering where I am for a few moments. (There’s a common joke among the Americans about whether you are an “above ground “ or “below ground” person..or one who rides the metro and doesn’t drive a car, and if you know your way around the city on the surface, even with a map! It can be just that disorienting at times! LOL).
Travel is easily accomplished by simply going to the token windows, generally waiting in line a few seconds, and purchasing the required blue plastic tokens, or talon, that you will insert into the control gate that grants entry to the landing station.The toll today is 2$ Grivna per use, or about 40 cents, US money at the current exchange rate.You can, and should, buy more than one token at a time, planning ahead for your travel.Otherwise, you’ll be standing in line all the time to buy them.There are also a limited number of monthly passes, or “proezdnoiy” (pronounced PREYZd-noy) sold at the end of each month at the station cashiers or at the bus stop kiosks, and they go quickly.They will save quite a bit if you are traveling all the time.We have yearly passes as we travel constantly and have already made back their cost in just 6 weeks.Otherwise, just buy several tokens at once to avoid standing in line.
Entry through to the landing platforms is simple. You insert your plastic token into the front slot on the seemingly barrier-less entryways.Be sure to wait for the light on the front to turn green before you enter (the turnstile will also give a double electronic beep-beep).If you go in before the light turns, you will find out how well the light sensor activated barrier gates work as they painfully slam into both your legs from each side of the entryway!
As long as you stay inside the system, you can travel anywhere within it, on any of the current three lines (soon to be four in another year).
While a very functional system overall, the fact it was built during the Soviet era and has had little updating past some new technology for the control system, everything is very old and looks it.Most of the cars are in operable condition, but looking very much their 50+ years of age. Some of the metro trains have received the “magic update” of advertising paint jobs, and they look pretty good.Others simply look very old, although they are always painted well.I am told they are going to all be replaced by 2012 for the European Cup Soccer Championship matches that will be held here in Kyiv and throughout Ukraine.I’ll believe that when I see it.Plus, I should add I have only been “trapped” on the subway once in two years when there was a technology breakdown and my train was stopped at “Petrivka” station.Unfortunately at the time, I didn’t know what busses left what station to go back to where I lived then.I knew it wasn’t far, but I lacked the real language skills back then to ask and understand instructions.Fortunately I found someone who spoke some English and found out what was happening.Nowadays, not a problem as I could find out and find a solution readily.
All the landing stations have their name in Russian on the wall.All the access streets are clearly signed inside the stations on the walls and above the landing platforms, so knowing Cyrillic letters is mandatory to be able to read the signs and know where to go to get out, or change stations for another line at an exchange station.Inside the train cars are overhead television style monitors that show advertising (raklami) and also show the station name arriving, and the next one going to.There is also always an audio station landing and departing announcement, but it can be very noisy in the cars at times, and hard to hear.Best to watch the overhead monitors; they work, most of the time, that is.
REMINDER NOTE ON SAFETY:
I’ve had my wallet stolen twice on the metro during rush hour, once right out of my shumka.If you are traveling as an inexperienced tourist, or even as an experienced one, I highly recommend that you avoid traveling on the metro at any time between 07:00 to 09:00 and 17:00 to 19:00 (5 to 7:00 pm).If you do, see my caution notes at the beginning of the Guide to avoid the heartaches and incredible difficulties you will experience, especially if you passport is lost (It is required by Ukrainian law to be on you at all times during your stay in Ukraine) in the process of someone wanting your money!!
Before starting an overview of all the various forms of mass transit, it is important to post a couple of simple notes, warnings or cautions, if you will, regarding riding on any form of mass transportation in Ukraine…or any European country,Eastern or Western;
1.If you have any persona contact issues regarding body contact, such as someone touching you, standing close to you, or otherwise, then do not ride on any form of public transportation in Ukraine.I guarantee you that at some point, if not every time you ride a mass transit, you will be pushed, shoved, squeezed, compressed, stepped on and a host of other offensive things to those who suffer from “contact-aphobia.”The issues is yours, but do yourself a favor and save up your money before you come and hire a driver and car, or get an international driver’s license and rent a car.It’s the only way you’ll not end up in prison for causing problems because someone was “touching you” or “in your space.”Sounds silly, but I feel it’s important to know.
3.When you do travel, double check everything on you before, during and after you travel to make sure it is still where itbelongs…just make it a habit and you won’t be sorry…in this case, “OCD” is recommended .
4.An important rule to remember for all mass transit systems in Ukraine is that the seats, whether marshrutki, avtobus, trolleybus, or tramvoys, are reserved for the elderly (primarily older babushkas..or grandmothers, the invalid of any age, and people with little children or pregnant women.If you are on a public transit and one of these people boards, get up and give that person your seat.If not, someone will ask you to do that.
Buses
Daite moi talon pozhaluista bez garchitci…
in English, it roughly says, “Pass my ticket, please, and hold the mustard.”
There are three types of busses in Ukraine:
1.Marshrutka
2.Avtobus
3.trolleybus
They have many similarities, and differences.
Marshrutka
(pronounced mar-SHrOOT-ka):
Marshrutki (plural of marshrutka) are people mover taxis.They are not city owned, but owned by a private company under license from the city. As a result, they are very regular, pacing other city buses at two to one, or more arrival times.They generally hold 16-21 people seated and 45-50 total with standing, but on a good day at rush hour (7 am to 9 am and 5 pm to 7 pm) that number will jump to 60, maybe more. It’s hard to count how many people are actually on one when you’re smashed against the door trying not to get crushed when it opens for the next stop.
Marshrutki will stop at any bus stop, or in Russian it is “ostanovka”(actually pronounced ASTA-nov-ka), but will also stop like a taxi at a requested place if you ask the driver and tell him exactly where you need to get off.Otherwise, to get off you either go to one of the doors and stand there so the driver knows you want off at the next stop, or you rather ceremoniously announce very loudly to the driver “na ostanovka pozhaluista” (literally translated means “to the bus stop, please) or “sleduyschaya ostanovka pozhaluista” (literally means “next bus stop, please).This saves you from having to know what the name of the stop is.People who know where they are going will simply call out the street name or bus stop name…all bus stops have a name, too.They also pick people up that signal them (hand down and out at arms length at a 45 degree angle).
Almost all marshrutki have a “conductor” who collects the fares. It is a pay-per-use fare and there are not any passes you can purchase ahead of time. Current fares are 2$ Grivna (some going longer routes are up to 4$ to 5$ Grivna) and you either pay the conductor when you get on, she will come to your seat to get it, or like buying a hot dog at a sports event, if it’s crowed, you pass your money to the person in the seat, or standing, in front of you and they will pass it forward to the conductor, or the driver if there is no conductor…and be sure to tell them “bez garchitci, pozhaluista” ….just kidding, that means “without mustard” in Russian.They will then pass back your change and your ticket (talon).And, yes, it will be the right amount of change…ironic for the amount of theft in this country.
Avtobuses
(pronounced AFTO-buse)
These are the city-owned municipal free-route busses, as I call them, since they are diesel powered and can travel on any open street or roadway.Like the trolleybuses, these can be anything from a much older, dilapidated single unit model up to a very new and modern, twin flexi-unit model with a main tractor unit and trailer connected with a flexible connector in the central area over the trailer hitch…I call them “super-busses.”All such vehicles, including trains, are referred to in general in Russian as being a “poezd” (pronounced POE-yeast).
These units seat, or hold, over a hundred people at a time, and I have no idea what that number can be on rush hours…”brutal” is the only word I know at those times.I try not to ride them during rush hour if at all possible.Like the marshrutki, these usually have a conductor to collect fares.If not, you are on the honor system to come and pay the driver.In all cases, you get your ticket and go to a cancelling machine attached to an upright hold-on bar and manually punch it yourself.I am of the opinion that it’s supposed to a be a pay for use system, but very often I have not cancelled when I was coming back the same way and cancelled on the return pass.Conductors don’t require you to cancel, or some don’t. However, you can buy discounted tickets at bus stop kiosks and if you come on with one, or one purchased previously, you must cancel it upon getting on and show the conductor you have it.Each bus has its own cancel pattern, too, so they will know if it was canceled on their bus.If you are in the country for an extended period for any reason, it may be worthwhile to purchase a ‘proeznoi” or monthly pass. It will save a lot of money, but mostly it saves a lot of time and bother in purchasing tickets.
There are also “bus police.”Since a lot of the buses don’t have conductors, or even those that do, often people will do anything to avoid paying the fare.I see them hiding in corner seats pretending to read a book, listen a walkman, and my favorite is, talking on their mobile phone.If you are on a city bus and a person comes up to you and flashes a picture ID in the palm of their hand and identifying themselves, they are a “control officer” and you must show them your cancelled ticket, prozenoi, or State travel ID that allows free transit.The fine for not having any of those is 40$.
Trolleybuses
(pronounced “trow-LEA-bouse”
These are the electric overhead versions of the avtobus system.All are municipally owned and operated and all the fares, rules and regulations for the avtobus system and how they operate are exactly the same.They simply go on a route obviously determined by the overhead electric system’s tracks.Many are old and run down, but those are vanishing fast and being replaced by new and very modern LAZ Ukrainian made buses.Like the aging metro trains, many of the remaining older buses have been given a temporary fresh look with a “remont” or remodeling, by selling exterior advertising space on them in the form of total paint jobs.Some of them are rather clever schemes, too.
A word of advice for the trolleybus is the same as the avtobuses; don’t sit in the conductor’s seat and always give your seat, if you get one to aged, invalid, very young children or pregnant women.Generally speaking, on both the trolleybus and avtobuses, all the seats in the front section are primarily reserved for this people.The rest remain for them on a ‘best judgment” basis, but I would not advise sitting in a seat in front of a babushka who is forced to stand as a result.
Trams
or Tramvoi
(pronounced TRAM – voi)
This was originally the first real mass transit system for Kyiv, being installed before the turn of the 20th century.Unfortunately, these today are the ancient overhead electric light rail trains that were installed by the Soviet Union some 50+ years ago and have suffered from an almost total lack of upkeep for the last 20 or more years. These operate the same as the trolleybus system, but just within the railway track structure. These are used in the older parts of the city and on the left bank across the Dniper where there is currently on an east-west line of the metro.
For the most part, the tramvois are dilapidated and old, but handy in that, like the metro, are pretty quick travel.Many have been repaired and received the same “remont” advertising paint jobs, but the bulk remain in very sad condition.*They are subject to traffic and street light controls, however, and can sometimes be delayed like any other surface transport.The fares, rules and regulations are the same for these as the rest of the municipal system, and they almost always have a conductor. If not, again you pay the driver.
As a fun side note, there is actually a couple of completely restored pre-20th century tramvois that are available for catering and private party tours though local agents and the tramvoi museum located down on Ulitsa Frunzi and they are very cool.They can be set up for tours just within the historic Podil district, but are a really great way to relive the history of an bygone Kyivan era.
