UZ Ukrainian Railways VL11s in Čierna Nad Tisou - August 2023

Despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, trains are still running from Ukraine, into Čierna Nad Tisou (Slovakian Border town) on the 1520mm lines, as seen here. In the first clip taken at the level crossing, I was around 500m from the Ukrainian border and the train stops on the crossing for around 10 minutes for paper work and other checks to be carried out. The trains run rather slowly, hence the long video! It was really great to see my first ever Ukrainian loco, especially during the war. Locos seen are: VL11 068 & VL11 150. Recorded on the 29th of August 2023.

On a side note, after the level crossing shot the Police (who were waiting at the crossing) questioned me, but after I told them I’m a railway fan, they checked my documents and were fine and they went on their way. Any train that comes over the border has a large security following, mainly to check that no illegal immigrants have come over. However they were all friendly to me and I had no issues recording.

Enjoy!