Libau–Romny Railway was a railway company that built a railway line in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in 1871–74 to connect Romny in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

with the port in Libau (

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

) in present-day

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. To do so it passed through

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

. The objective of the railway was to deliver Ukrainian exports, particularly grain, to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

where it could be further shipped.

History

In 1856 a concession to build the railway was granted to the main Russian railway company (Главное общество российских железных дорог), but it failed to gather the required authorised capital. Afterwards the concession was granted to the Libau-Romny railway company which was founded by businessmen who were interested in exporting Ukrainian grain. The company was headed by engineer baron Karl Otto Georg von Meck. Design works started in 1869. On 15 December 1871 the state finished and approved the design, the new railway line was supposed to cross the Courland, Kaunas, Vilnius, Minsk, Mogilev and Chernihiv governorates. The railway was built in sections: * Liepāja–

Kaišiadorys Kaišiadorys (; Yiddish: קאָשעדאַר) is a city in central Lithuania. It is situated between Vilnius and Kaunas. Kaišiadorys is one of six Lithuanian diocese centres. It is home to the Transfiguration Cathedral, Kaišiadorys, Cathedral of ...

(295 versts) Operation began in September 1871; * Naujoji Vilnia–Minsk (173 versts) began on 14 (26 New Style) January 1873; * Minsk–

Bobruisk Babruysk (, ) or Bobruysk (, ; , ) is a city in Mogilev Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Babruysk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is situated on the Berezina River. Babruysk o ...

(140 versts) began in September 1873; * Bobruisk–

Gomel Gomel (, ) or Homyel (, ) is a city in south-eastern Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Gomel Region and Gomel District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it is the List of cities and largest ...

(142 versts) began in November 1873; * Gomel– Bakhmach (184 versts) began in January 1874 * Bakhmach–Romny began on 15 (27) July 1874. After Meck's death in 1876 his second son, Vladimir von Meck, was chairman of the Libau–Romny Railway until 1881 A branch from Radviliškis to

Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...

(completed in 1873) and station in Naujoji Vilnia connected the railway to the Saint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway. The station in Mažeikiai connected Libau–Romny line to the Riga–Jelgava Railway; the station in Minsk connected the line to the Moscow–Brest Railway; the station in Bakhmach connected the line to Kiev–Voronezh Railway; the station in Romny connected the line to the Kharkiv–Mykolaiv Railway. Railway stations were built every 22 versts without regard to geographic or other conditions. The railway lay at right angles to the German axes of advance in both world wars. In the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the portion west of Smorgon (now Smarhon') fell into German hands in the great Austro-German advance of May–September 1915, the rest following the

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria), by which Russia withdrew from World War I. The treaty, whi ...

in March 1918. It remained in German hands until the

Armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed in a railroad car, in the Compiègne Forest near the town of Compiègne, that ended fighting on land, at sea, and in the air in World War I between the Entente and their las ...

, and upon German evacuation was nationalized as part of the Western Railways. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the line fell into German hands between 22 June and late September 1941. The Gomel-Bakhmach-Romny portion was recovered by Soviet forces in September–December 1943;Jukes, Geoffrey, ''Kursk: The Clash of Armour'' (New York: Ballantine Books, 1969), p. 140 (map) the remainder was recovered from German hands in June–August 1944 and January–May 1945. Today the railway is located in four countries, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine. Operation of the portion between the Baltic Sea and Mažeikiai was discontinued in 1990.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Libau-Romny Railway Railway lines in Ukraine Cross-border railway lines in Ukraine Railway lines in Belarus Cross-border railway lines in Belarus Railway lines in Lithuania Cross-border railway lines in Lithuania Railway lines in Latvia Cross-border railway lines in Latvia 19th-century establishments in the Russian Empire International railway lines 1520 mm gauge railways in Lithuania 1520 mm gauge railways in Belarus 1520 mm gauge railways in Ukraine 1870s establishments in the Russian Empire 1520 mm gauge railways in Latvia