Bieszczady Forest Railway

The Bieszczadzka Kolejka Lesna opened in 1898 to bring timber out of the Bieszczady valleys, first on 760 mm gauge and later on today's 750 mm, and at its greatest extent it covered a large network through country with almost no roads. Logging moved to lorries, the line closed commercially in 1994, and it was saved by a foundation and volunteers who restored a section and have run it as a heritage railway since 1997. Trains run from Majdan near Cisna, on two routes - towards Przyslup (since 2020 only as far as Dolzyca, after a landslide) and towards Balnica near the Slovak border - through forest and open valley at a walking pace, with steam on some services and diesel on others. The Bieszczady are the emptiest mountains in Poland, with villages depopulated in the twentieth century and forest grown back over them, and the railway runs through exactly that landscape, which is what makes it more than a novelty ride.

History

Work began in 1890, under Austro-Hungarian rule, on a line linking the Bieszczady forests with the railway at Nowy Łupków, and the first 25 km to Cisna opened on 21 January 1898, on 760 mm gauge, with its depot at Majdan. The State Forests took the line over by 1953 and extended it to 73 km by the 1960s, tourist passenger trains began in 1963, and after regular traffic ended in December 1994 the Bieszczady Forest Railway Foundation, set up in 1996, began running trains again on 4 July 1997 (Wikipedia, Bieszczady Forest Railway).

What to look for

• A logging line of 1898 - 760 mm at first, 750 mm today, saved by volunteers after 1994.
• Two routes from Majdan - towards Dolzyca and towards Balnica.
• Steam on some services - diesel on others, at walking pace.
• Empty valleys - forest grown back over villages that are no longer there.

When to go

May to September. Half a day.

Practical notes

It runs seasonally on a limited timetable - check before travelling, and book in high summer. Steam is not on every service. Journeys are slow and open carriages are cold in poor weather. The area is remote.

Nearby

Cisna and the Bieszczady trails are close; Solina lake is north-west.

Key facts