Bieszczady Forest Railway

The Bieszczadzka Kolejka Lesna was built from 1898 to bring timber out of the Bieszczady valleys, running on 760 mm gauge, 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. Trains run from Majdan near Cisna, on two routes - towards Przyslup 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.

What you actually see

• A 760 mm logging line - built from 1898, saved by volunteers after 1994.
• Two routes from Majdan - towards Przyslup 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.

Honest expectations

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.