Belarus railways

[Merseysider]

Asking for a friend who will be in Belarus in 2 weeks (having travelled via coach from Poland).

Does anyone know of an up-to-date website please similar to RTT or the following which shows interesting loco / stock allocations in Belarus?

Or any railway routes in Belarus which use locos as a matter of course?

As I said, asking for a friend. Information is hard to come by.

Thanks

Loco-info
www.seat61.com
https://www.cd.cz/en/

 

[stadler]

Asking for a friend who will be in Belarus in 2 weeks (having travelled via coach from Poland).

Does anyone know of an up-to-date website please similar to RTT or the following which shows interesting loco / stock allocations in Belarus?

Or any railway routes in Belarus which use locos as a matter of course?

As I said, asking for a friend. Information is hard to come by.

Thanks

Loco-info
www.seat61.com
https://www.cd.cz/en/

Belarus has nothing of that sort. None of the ex Soviet countries do. Nothing that even comes close to RTT or OTT and you will certainly not be able to see unit number allocations anywhere online. But there are a few basic timetable sites online.

The best you will have is this timetable and departure board site:

https://pass.rw.by/ru/tablo/

You can enter the from and to to see all trains between stations. Or just enter the from station (and leave the to station blank) to see all trains from that station. Or just enter the to station (and leave the from station blank) to see all trains to that station. You can select a date or click on the third button which says all days and that allows you to see a full overview.

Almost all international and long distance trains are locomotive hauled. Many of the domestic intercity and domestic long distance trains use modern Stadler Flirt EPM and Pesa 730M and Pesa 731M and Pesa 760M units but some are still locomotive hauled. Some of the international trains to Moscow in Russia use Siemens Desiro units but the majority are locomotive hauled. The local suburban and regional trains are almost all units. The local trains are a mixture of newer Stadler Flirt EPG and Stadler Flirt EPR and Pesa 620M units along with lots of interesting old RVR DR1 and RVR ER9 units. So there is a good mix of stock.

If you want to see locomotive hauled trains then you will easily find them at any major station. Especially somewhere like Minsk you will find them all day. There are still plenty used on almost all international trains and some domestic long distance ones. If your friend has a particular station or area in mind and a particular time or date then i am happy to advise which trains are locomotive hauled.

 

[Merseysider]

Belarus has nothing of that sort. None of the ex Soviet countries do. Nothing that even comes close to RTT or OTT and you will certainly not be able to see unit number allocations anywhere online. But there are a few basic timetable sites online.

The best you will have is this timetable and departure board site:

https://pass.rw.by/ru/tablo/

You can enter the from and to to see all trains between stations. Or just enter the from station (and leave the to station blank) to see all trains from that station. Or just enter the to station (and leave the from station blank) to see all trains to that station. You can select a date or click on the third button which says all days and that allows you to see a full overview.

Almost all international and long distance trains are locomotive hauled. Many of the domestic intercity and domestic long distance trains use modern Stadler Flirt EPM and Pesa 730M and Pesa 731M and Pesa 760M units but some are still locomotive hauled. Some of the international trains to Moscow in Russia use Siemens Desiro units but the majority are locomotive hauled. The local suburban and regional trains are almost all units. The local trains are a mixture of newer Stadler Flirt EPG and Stadler Flirt EPR and Pesa 620M units along with lots of interesting old RVR DR1 and RVR ER9 units. So there is a good mix of stock.

If you want to see locomotive hauled trains then you will easily find them at any major station. Especially somewhere like Minsk you will find them all day. There are still plenty used on almost all international trains and some domestic long distance ones. If your friend has a particular station or area in mind and a particular time or date then i am happy to advise which trains are locomotive hauled.

Thank you - a most informative post! 29.12.25 - 01.01.26 are the dates of the visit and it will be Minsk

Thanks again!

 

[StephenHunter]

The FCDO advises against all travel to Belarus and a red status means most travel insurance isn't valid.

Belarus travel advice

FCDO travel advice for Belarus. Includes safety and security, insurance, entry requirements and legal differences.

www.gov.uk

FCDO advises against all travel to Belarus​

FCDO advises against all travel to Belarus. You face a significant risk of arrest if you have at any time engaged in any activity now considered illegal by the Belarusian regime.

There is also a low risk that direct conflict linked to the war in Ukraine may spread to Belarus. Find out more about why FCDO advises against all travel.

 

[stadler]

Thank you - a most informative post! 29.12.25 - 01.01.26 are the dates of the visit and it will be Minsk

Thanks again!

Minsk is certainly one of the easiest places to spot locomotives. There will always always be at least one locomotive hauled train in the station. You wont have to wait long to see them.

The best time of the day for spotting locomotives is around 06:00 to 10:00 and around 20:00 to 00:00 as that is when the majority of long distance trains to and from Russia arrive and depart. But there are others all throughout the day. There are approximately 30 locomotive hauled trains a day at Minsk station.

Another place i recommend going is Stolichny which is one stop five minute journey from Minsk on a suburban train. This is where a massive freight sorting yard is located and also one of the locomotive depots. There is always lots of interesting stuff parked up around there and you can get a good view from one of the road bridges that crosses over it.

Another site i recommend for Belarus railways (and for Russia railways too) is yandex which has a very simple easy to use departure board for any station.

Minsk Station (All Trains):

Яндекс

Найдётся всё

t.rasp.yandex.ru

Minsk Station (Long Distance Trains):

Яндекс

Найдётся всё

t.rasp.yandex.ru

Minsk Station (Short Distance Trains):

Яндекс

Найдётся всё

t.rasp.yandex.ru

Again this is only for passenger trains and unfortunately nothing for freight or empty stock workings exists.

Also note that a small amount of trains (mainly suburban trains) leave from the separate Institute Of Culture station which is located a short walk away behind the main Minsk central station.

The FCDO advises against all travel to Belarus and a red status means most travel insurance isn't valid.

Belarus travel advice

FCDO travel advice for Belarus. Includes safety and security, insurance, entry requirements and legal differences.

www.gov.uk

Yes but the FCDO love unnecessarily advising against travel to so many places. If you listen to their advice then you will have to avoid half the world.

I will say that i have visited both Belarus and Russia earlier this year and again last year without issue. I went to Smolensk in Russia earlier this year and stopped off in Minsk in Belarus for a couple days on my way there. Everything is normal. You would not even know that anything has changed except for a few western brands dissapearing. It is not a warzone. It is not like you are going to Sudan or Somalia or somewhere like that.

British travel insurance might not be valid in Belarus but many people dont bother with travel insurance anyway. I personally never bother getting travel insurance (except in the few countries where it is required to get a visa) but it is up to each individual if they want to take the risk. There are probably some insurance companies that will cover Belarus still (but it would likely be very expensive and not worth it) but you would have to look around. I personally wouldnt bother.

It is up to up each person but if you listen to the FCDO then you will unneccasarily miss out on a lot of places around the world. Of course some warzones are best avoided but overall their advice is far too extreme.

 

[Merseysider]

Minsk is certainly one of the easiest places to spot locomotives. There will always always be at least one locomotive hauled train in the station. You wont have to wait long to see them.

The best time of the day for spotting locomotives is around 06:00 to 10:00 and around 20:00 to 00:00 as that is when the majority of long distance trains to and from Russia arrive and depart. But there are others all throughout the day. There are approximately 30 locomotive hauled trains a day at Minsk station.

Another place i recommend going is Stolichny which is one stop five minute journey from Minsk on a suburban train. This is where a massive freight sorting yard is located and also one of the locomotive depots. There is always lots of interesting stuff parked up around there and you can get a good view from one of the road bridges that crosses over it.

Another site i recommend for Belarus railways (and for Russia railways too) is yandex which has a very simple easy to use departure board for any station.

Minsk Station (All Trains):

Яндекс

Найдётся всё

t.rasp.yandex.ru

Minsk Station (Long Distance Trains):

Яндекс

Найдётся всё

t.rasp.yandex.ru

Minsk Station (Short Distance Trains):

Яндекс

Найдётся всё

t.rasp.yandex.ru

Again this is only for passenger trains and unfortunately nothing for freight or empty stock workings exists.

Also note that a small amount of trains (mainly suburban trains) leave from the separate Institute Of Culture station which is located a short walk away behind the main Minsk central station.


Yes but the FCDO love unnecessarily advising against travel to so many places. If you listen to their advice then you will have to avoid half the world.

I will say that i have visited both Belarus and Russia earlier this year and again last year without issue. I went to Smolensk in Russia earlier this year and stopped off in Minsk in Belarus for a couple days on my way there. Everything is normal. You would not even know that anything has changed except for a few western brands dissapearing. It is not a warzone. It is not like you are going to Sudan or Somalia or somewhere like that.

British travel insurance might not be valid in Belarus but many people dont bother with travel insurance anyway. I personally never bother getting travel insurance (except in the few countries where it is required to get a visa) but it is up to each individual if they want to take the risk. There are probably some insurance companies that will cover Belarus still (but it would likely be very expensive and not worth it) but you would have to look around. I personally wouldnt bother.

It is up to up each person but if you listen to the FCDO then you will unneccasarily miss out on a lot of places around the world. Of course some warzones are best avoided but overall their advice is far too extreme.

That is superb - thank you for the insight! If we find ourselves at a forum meet together I'll get you a pint

The FCDO advises against all travel to Belarus and a red status means most travel insurance isn't valid.

Belarus travel advice

FCDO travel advice for Belarus. Includes safety and security, insurance, entry requirements and legal differences.

www.gov.uk

You are correct in that the FCDO advises against travel.

That said, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico are conflict zones / adjacent to conflict zones yet FCDO paints them in green.

 

[The exile]

That is superb - thank you for the insight! If we find ourselves at a forum meet together I'll get you a pint

You are correct in that the FCDO advises against travel.

That said, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico are conflict zones / adjacent to conflict zones yet FCDO paints them in green.

That wording from the FCDO makes it pretty clear that their main concern is not any danger emanating from a conflict zone....

 

[Merseysider]

That wording from the FCDO makes it pretty clear that their main concern is not any danger emanating from a conflict zone....

I agree in fact, yes.

The advice is "FCDO advises against all travel to Belarus. You face a significant risk of arrest if you have at any time engaged in any activity now considered illegal by the Belarusian regime" which is a nothingburger for my friend who has never mentioned Belarus nor the government on social media / messages etc.

But this is a railway thread, not a "your friend shouldn't go to Belarus" thread... they are going, and simply want information on the trains

 

[1D54]

But this is a railway thread, not a "your friend shouldn't go to Belarus" thread... they are going, and simply want information on the trains

But sensible advice is being given by posters. I've been to Russia though not during this conflict and the only advice i would offer is not to spend to much time hanging around the end of platforms watching trains and obviously not photographing them as it will draw attention to yourself in a matter of seconds.

 

[Merseysider]

But sensible advice is being given by posters. I've been to Russia though not during this conflict and the only advice i would offer is not to spend to much time hanging around the end of platforms watching trains and obviously not photographing them as it will draw attention to yourself in a matter of seconds.

That is a very good point - thanks - I will pass this on.