Hyrynsalmi-Kuusamo Line

The Hyrynsalmi – Kuusamo railway line was built by the German Wehrmacht in the middle of Finland near the Soviet border.

Hyrynsalmi–Kuusamo
Technical
Line length178
Track gauge750
Route map

178
Vanttaja
Kuusamo
Säkkinen
Penttilänvaara
Käsmä
Inkee pohjoinen
Inkee eteläinen
Harjajoki
Isokumpu
Iijoki
Yli-Outujoki
82
Korvua
69
Leino
Lippo
49
Vääkiö
Huuhkajavaara
40
Kovajärvi
Jäkäläaho
28
Pesiökylä
Laaja
Hyrynjärvi
0
Hyrynsalmi

History

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After Hyrynsalmi got a railway connection in 1939, the Wehrmacht tried to reach the city of Kuusamo 178 km away during World War II. A Heeresfeldbahn was built in the gauge of 750 mm. Operations started on September 3, 1942. Just two years later, with the advance of the Soviet Army, operations had to be closed again. In 1948 the tracks were dismantled.

In the years 1956–1961 a railway line in Russian broad gauge was built between Hyrynsalmi and Taivalkoski, which mostly shared the old route as far as Korvua. This railway line has only been partially in operation since 2004 (up to Trennungsbahnhof Pesiökylä).

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Literature

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  • Lars Westerlund: Saksan vankileirit Suomessa ja raja-alueilla 1941-1944 , Helsinki: Tammi, 2008, ISBN 978-951314277-3.
  • DVD "Kuolemanrata". A film by Timo Koivisto, Nimbus-Filmi, 1999.
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