Welcome to Medyka Bahn & Models

 

On the 24th February 2022 the unthinkable happened. Russia attacked Ukraine, bombs rained down on Kyiv and other major cities in Ukraine, Destroying  homes and killing innocent civilians.  This act of vile aggression by Russia has sparked the largest refugee crisis in Europe since WW2. Over 2 years  later the War continues to take lives both civilians and military.

Poland immediately opened its borders to these innocent people mostly women ,children and the elderly . Medyka is the main crossing point for these people. Within hours the village school’s Sports Hall had been converted in to a welcoming point where food, clothing and a place to rest had been set up. The centre has now closed and arriving guests are now taken to the Humanitarian centre in Przemyśl and the railway station where support is given to them. Buses from all over Europe take  these people to safety and a new start. On Friday 14/04/23 the last evacuation train left Przemyśl to Hannover. since it started 193 special trains had run with an average load of 200 refugees. The Train was operated by Rail Adventure and SKPL Medyka Bahn also assisted in this operation.

The official reason for this service ending is as follows;

“According to the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior, the background to the step is that the country has been meeting the admission quota for Ukrainians seeking protection for around five months. As a result, almost everyone arriving at the hub in the Hanover region would be forwarded to other federal states. “Against this background, the hub will be discontinued, but could be reactivated if necessary,” the ministry said on Friday. According to the aid organization Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB), around 180 people were on the last train on the Saturday.

Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) described the work as a “great effort” for the federal, state and local authorities and volunteers from the German-Ukrainian Circle of Friends. The hub was set up in March 2022, shortly after the Russian attack on Ukraine. More than 6,700 people arrived in Laatzen in the first week alone. Most recently, around 150 people per week were briefly accommodated and cared for in an exhibition hall. Overall, Lower Saxony has taken in more than 100,000 Ukrainians since the beginning of the war.”

We thank Rail Adventure, SKPL, The Polish Red Cross and all the volunteers for the fantastic job they did to help so many people reach safety and a chance to rebuild their lives. This may not be the end of the service, depending on the actions of the maniac in the Kremlin the train could be reactivated if necessary,

The situation is still ongoing, over 2 years later, and the people of Medyka and Poland will continue to help these people in their hour of need with comfort and help to rebuild their shattered lives.

 Over 18.4 million people have cossed the border into pPoland (as of 11/01/24)  and will take many more before this madness is over This is Poland’s finest hour. The hearts of the Polish Nation are open to those in need. GOD BLESS POLAND

 

A New Station for Medyka

A new Station is under construction at Medyka to serve the Village and Border traffic. Situated closer to the village, and border crossing. The following photos should give an idea of what the Station will look like when completed. The opening date and further details will be posted here when known. The train service should not change.

 

 

The new station under construction 29/05/23

 

 

 

 

 

A view of the Bus Shelter type building on the platform.

 

The new Station is on the right of the bridge

 

 

The final special train awaiting to depart for Hannover on the 14/04/23 from Przemyśl with 180 displaced Ukrainians. The locomotive will be changed at Frankfurt Oder before it continued to Hannover. The service was totally free to it’s passengers who were also given food and drink.

 

 

The same Train arriving at Hannover Laatzenthe following day,having travelled overnight from Poland. Note the new locomotive that took over at Frankfurt Oder.

 

 

 
 
 

 

The special train arriving at Frankfurt Oder bahnhof on the 11/07/22

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A view of the coaching stock of the train carrying displaced people from Ukraine.The stock consists of both DB & DR coaches from the 1980’s.

                                                 

 

 

Update 03rd November  2023

More than 18 months later, this War still continues. Ukraine appears to be making gains in the fight against the invaders. Kyiv and other Cities continue to be hit by rockets and Drones. The aim is to destroy the Air Defence systems and the the power and water supplies. These vile acts by Russia have caused huge suffering to innocent civilians.

A very big “thank you” to the Railwaymen & Women of Ukraine Railways who run the VIP train to kyiv. To date this has carried heads of state of many countries of the free World including, the USA. The train has got the unofficial title of “Train Force One”. Thank you Ukraine Railways

Russia’s brutal air war persists because its original strategy failed, and failed not only due to extraordinary Ukrainian resilience, but also to the remarkable levels of support that Kyiv has received from those Country’s that support it.. Those standing against Moscow’s aggression should not allow Mr Putin to distract them, but stay on course. Let us hope this Year is the year of VICTORY.

The President of Poland Andrzej Duda has said the people arriving from Ukraine are not refugees but our guests. Again I say “Thank you Poland” Since this time of madness started I am hosting 3 extra guests including a one year old baby. On a personal note living very close to the border I have witnessed first hand these events as they unfold. I have seen totally traumatised people who have had to flee their homes in just the clothes the stand up in. Back in February Medyka was still in the grip of winter. One thing I will always remember is the humanity of the Polish people, from the Guy’s and Girls of the uniformed services to the ordinary people, everyone has done their bit to help. A recent poll of the Polish people shows over 57% in favour of helping. I am truly proud to be part of the Polish Nation. As the Prime minister said recently  “If Russia were ever to consider attacking Poland, Russia must be aware, the Kremlin must be aware, that in Poland there are 40 million people ready to take up arms in defense of their homeland,” Let us hope this never happens but if it does we will face the challenges to come. GOD BLESS POLAND

 

 

 

This video shows the very best of the Polish Border guard. Poland can be proud of them

Video is © Polish Border Guard (SG)

The photo above taken in Kyiv on the 23rd May shows what people have left behind. The actions of the deranged individual in the Kremlin has not only destroyed property but lives. A lot of our guests arriving here are suffering severe trauma and Poland will help them. Sadly this War shows no sign of stopping. Russia has now turned to bombing Critical infrastructure leaving thousands of people all over the Country without power and water. God help those who suffer GOD BLESS POLAND, GOD BLESS UKRAINE

 

 

A full train of displaced people from the East of Ukraine seen between Medyka and Przemyśl on 03/07/22

 

 

BR 232 at Medyka 12.01.23

Seen at Medyka on 12.01.23  BR 232 “Ludmilla” now owned by Captrain. It was delivered to a Soviet industrial company in 1977, was only imported to Germany in 1999 and was rebuilt / modernized at ADtranz for private trains. In 2012 it was sold by  ITL to the Polish subsidiary. This machine was never used in DDR. (Thanks to Martin Schwarze for this information)

 

Captrain Polska, is one of the companies cooperating with Ukrainian Railways at the Mostiska / Medyka railway Border. Thank you Captrain

 

 

Proud to be helping Ukraine !

 

A “Ludmilla”in DR service leaving the DDR with a cross border train in the 1980’s near Lübeck Germany. (photo taken by myself)

 

Ludmilla perfection. 132 139-8 entering Berlin Zoo Garten Hbf in the late 1980’s Note the Red flag and DDR flag above the buffers (copyright unkown)

 

These Locos when in service with the DR operated both freight and passenger services.

Medyka in the News

The following was recently published in RailTech a leading industry news site. Medyka is becoming well known for its importance as a Polish Rail Centre:

As of this week, the Rail Freight Corridor North Sea – Baltic (RFC NS-B) is extended to include the Polish town of Medyka in the east as well as the ports of Gent and Zeebrugge in the west. The extension means the inclusion of the cross border port area North Sea port, which consists of the ports of Gent and of Terneuzen in the Netherlands.

The RFC NS-B’s principle line runs to Gent, while Terneuzen is serviced by a so-called connecting line. The extension is aimed at solidifying the freight corridor’s role in bridging European and Asian markets, as well as improving connections between Eastern and Western European markets. In order to stream line access to the corridor, capacity can now be requested via a the so-called Corridor One Stop Shop.

The extension to the western ports was supported by Infrabel and ProRail, the Belgian and Dutch rail infrastructure managers, respectively. Connecting Medyka sits well with their Polish counterpart PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe’s diversification strategy.

RFC NS-B was set up in November 2015 and runs across eight EU countries and services 14 seaports and 257 terminals. The freight corridor consists of over 5,200 kilometres of main lines and 2.552 diversionary lines. Additionally, there are are 891 kilometres of connecting lines. A further 960 kilometers of rail is planned.

 

The RFC NS-B’s principle line runs to Gent, while Terneuzen is serviced by a so-called connecting line. The extension is aimed at solidifying the freight corridor’s role in bridging European and Asian markets, as well as improving connections between Eastern and Western European markets. In order to stream line access to the corridor, capacity can now be requested via a the so-called Corridor One Stop Shop.

The extension to the western ports was supported by Infrabel and ProRail, the Belgian and Dutch rail infrastructure managers, respectively. Connecting Medyka sits well with their Polish counterpart PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe’s diversification strategy.

RFC NS-B was set up in November 2015 and runs across eight EU countries and services 14 seaports and 257 terminals. The freight corridor consists of over 5,200 kilometres of main lines and 2.552 diversionary lines. Additionally, there are are 891 kilometres of connecting lines. A further 960 kilometers of rail is planned.

 

Medyka  is a village, in south-eastern Poland on the international border with Ukraine. It is situated approximately 13 km (8 miles) east of Przemyśl and 72 km (45 miles) east of the regional capital Rzeszow. Until 1948 the village belonged to the Soviet Union as part of the Drohobych Oblast. The village is well worth a visit and is home to a historic wooden church dating from 1607.

Major upgrade work is being carried out at Medyka as part of a 200 million Zloty project to improve the infrastructure in the area of border crossings, this includes new track, both European gauge and Russian gauge.

Modernisation of the Medyka district – Mościska II will cost 51 million zlotys. The project is divided into two phases , planned for implementation in 2016-2019 and 2022-2023.

Medyka is now truly an international transport hub, serving destinations such as Amsterdam, Berlin, Bremen and Rotterdam to name a few. Travellers can now connect to most of Europe from Medyka using both the long distance coach services operated by Flixbus and rail connections.

With the upgrade of both the Station and track, Medyka will hopefully soon see high speed rail services arriving and departing.

New border infrastructure is planned which will make enhance the gateway to Europe.

Our office in Przemyśl is open, where our future plans are for a Model shop, together with Frog Model Aircraft http://www.frogmodelaircraft.co.uk We are located at plac Legionów 3 in Przemyśl. opposite the main station. 

We are always happy to help travellers visiting the area . Please feel free to contact us with your requirements, using the contact us page. We will shortly be putting both Rail and coach timetable’s on the site.  Please Note: Since the start of the War in Ukraine our efforts now are to help those affected by the conflict 

 

MEDYKA BAHN MODELS

We are pleased to announce that Medyka Bahn have launched a range of model Overhead catenary masts and associated systems in H0, 00 TT and N gauge. The masts are of PKP, DB, DR, OBB prototypes. We have already produced Masts of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway in England in 00 as part of the LBSCR range. We are also producing masts for South African and Rhodesian Railways. Feel free to contact us for masts from any part of the World and will do our best to produce them.

Our on-line shop is nearly ready. Click Here  for a preview of Medyka Bahn Models We also produce Signals and other items in H0 and 00

 A new working model railway is now on show in our office window

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beautiful village of Medyka 

Przemyśl Station taken in 1978. Very little has changed since this photograph was taken, our office is just around the corner on the right in Plac Legionów 3

 

NEWS

*Obviously due to the ongoing conflict a lot of what follows is out of date. Freight traffic continues to cross the border including VIP trains ,Armour and fuel. Passenger trains still operate but take much longer to reach their destinations.

For obvious security reasons no photographs or details  of these trains will be published . (please read our announcement about this)

 

 

A  totally full local Train from Lviv seen between Medyka and Przemyśl bringing those fleeing the War to safety. This was  a regular site March and April. A special thank you to the Ukrainian and Polish Railwaymen who make this happen, they are truly Heroes.

 

Ukrainian Railways has announced is to start building European gauge track this year from Lwow to Mostyska-1 station, close to the border between Ukraine and Poland. This station already has a dual track that allows freight trains from Medyka to use this section without bogie exchange.

After running through the Mostyska – Medyka border crossing and entering Poland, the trains will use the existing standard gauge lines to  Przemyśl and the Polish network.

It is expected that Leo Express will operate Lviv-Kraków services on this route initially. We may well see PKP Pendalino’s  eventually running from Lwow to Warsaw. Ukrainian Railways expect the work to be completed within a year. 

This is further good news for the Railways of Medyka.

It is worth noting that Originally the line was standard gauge until 1945 when the Soviet Union converted it to “Russian Gauge” 

Leo Express have announced a new service to operate between Kraków and Medyka on the Ukrainian border. Passengers will be able to travel from Prague via Kraków direct to the border with Ukraine at Medyka. Leo Express only received permission to operate the route after the publication of the new timetable, so now have to look for new possible time frames, to start the service to Medyka, hopefully in the coming months.

Additionally, Leo Express has requested permission to operate between Kraków and Warsaw. The approval for this could be made within a year, the operator said. Together with Flix Bus it will soon be possible to travel to many European destinations directly from Medyka, including Berlin, Breman, Amsterdam, Paris and Rotterdam

PKP are currently upgrading passenger and border facilities at Medyka to cope with the extra demands and a new bus stand has been constructed for international services and is now operational.

A panoramic view of Medyka Station

A PKP Cargo Loco at a road crossing near Medyka on a beautiful June day in 2022. 

Our Office in Przemyśl, proudly flying both the Polish and Ukrainian flags

13:10 Przemysl to Kyiv service approaching Medyka on the 2nd September 2019. These trains are now running under Wartime conditions
Train No 715L forming the 13:10 service from Przemysl to
Kijów entering Medyka on 02 February 2020 at 13:26 note the new paintwork on the bridge.
Medyka Staion building from the International platforms 27th May 2019

Today the Station is not only the Border Station with Ukraine but the outer border of the European Union.

Medyka Station seen from the air. Sadly the old coach & waggon have cut up for scrap.  Photo © Straży Granicznej (Polish Border Guards)


The empty stock from IC 7300 Siemiradzki on the Medyka Przemyśl line approaching Przemyśl Główny as the sun goes down on the 26th March 2019 at 16:11


© Medyka Bahn january 2023