View source for North Caucasus Railway

{{Short description|One of the railway divisions in Russia}}
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with the Armenian [[South Caucasus Railway]], that belongs to [[Russian Railways]].}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox rail
|railroad_name     = Северо-Кавказская железная дорога<br>North Caucasus Railway
|logo_filename     = 
|logo_size         = 
|system_map        = 
|map_caption       = 
|map_size          = 
|marks             =
|image             = Skgd Rostov on Don.jpg
|image_size        = 250px
|image_caption     = [[North Caucasus Railway Administration Building]], [[Rostov-on-Don]]
|locale            = Russia
|start_year        = 1922
|end_year          = present
|predecessor_line  = North Caucasus Railway ([[USSR]], [[Russian Empire]])
|successor_line    = 
|length            = {{Convert|6315.9|km|mi|-1|abbr=on|lk=on}}
|gauge             = {{RailGauge|1520mm}}
|old_gauge         =
|hq_city           = [[Rostov-on-Don]]
|website           = [http://skzd.rzd.ru/ Press here]
}}
The '''North Caucasus Railway''' ({{lang-rus|Северо-Кавказская железная дорога}}) is a {{RailGauge|1520mm}} [[5 ft and 1520 mm gauge railways|broad gauge]] Russian railway network that links the [[Sea of Azov]] (in the west) and [[Caspian Sea]] (in the east). It runs through ten federal subjects: [[Rostov Oblast]], [[Krasnodar Krai]], [[Stavropol Krai]], [[Republic of Adygeya]], [[Karachay–Cherkessia]], [[North Ossetia]], [[Ingushetia]], [[Chechnya]], [[Dagestan]], and [[Kalmykia]]. The headquarters are the [[North Caucasus Railway Administration Building]] in [[Rostov-on-Don]].

The network comprises [[Grozny]], [[Krasnodar]], [[Makhachkala]], [[Mineralnye Vody]], and Rostov passenger and freight railways, as well as two [[children's railway]]s (in [[Vladikavkaz]] and Rostov). {{As of|2005}}, there were 6315.9&nbsp;km of railtrack and 403 railway stations. The railway is operated by the [[Russian Railways]] and employs 80,757 people.

The [[Black Sea]] resorts of [[Sochi]], [[Gelendzhik]] and [[Anapa]] are the principal passenger destinations on the railway. The Sochi line, running for many miles along the coast of the Black Sea, is especially busy in summer with regular extra direct express trains for holiday makers. The oil ports at [[Novorossiysk]] and [[Tuapse]] are significant destinations for rail freight traffic.

==Major railway stations==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*[[Rostov-Glavny|Rostov-on-Don]]
*[[Bataysk railway station|Bataysk]]
*[[Taganrog II railway station|Taganrog-II]]
*[[Likhaya railway station|Likhaya]]
*[[Tikhoretskaya Railway station|Tikhoretskaya]]
*[[Kavkazskaya railway station|Kavkazskaya]]
*[[Armavir Railway station|Armavir]]
*[[Mineralnye Vody Railway station|Mineralnye Vody]]
*[[Makhachkala]]
*[[Timashevsk]]aya
*[[Krasnodar-1 Railway station|Krasnodar]]
*[[Tuapse Railway station|Tuapse]]
*[[Belorechenskaya railway station|Belorechenskaya]]
*[[Salsk]]
*[[Novorossiysk]]
*[[Novocherkassk railway station|Novocherkassk]]
{{div col end}}

== Construction timeline ==
[[Image:Train Black Sea.jpg|thumb|The Kazan-Adler train running along the coast of the Black Sea]]
{{Portal|Railways}}
*1861 [[Shakhty|Shakhtnaya]]–[[Aksay, Rostov Oblast|Aksay]] (the first rail line in Northern Caucasus)
*1871 [[Zverevo]]–Shakhtnaya
*1872 Rostov-on-Don–Vladikavkaz
*1875 Aksay–Rostov-on-Don
*1888 [[Tikhoretsky District|Tikhoretskaya]]-[[Novorossisk]]
*1897-[[Kavkazsky District|Kavkazskaya]]-[[Stavropol]]
*1901 Kavkazskaya–Krasnodar
*1911 Bataysk–[[Azov]]
*1911 [[Sosyka]]–[[Yeysk]]
*1911 Armavir–[[Maykop|Maikop]]
*1912 Belorechenskaya–Tuapse
*1914 Krasnodar–[[Akhtari]]
*1914 [[Krymsk]]aya–Timashevsk–[[Kushchevka]]
*1915 Bataysk–Salsk
*1915 [[Prokhladnaya]]–[[Gudermes]]
*1916 [[Palagiada]]–[[Vinodelnoye]]
*1923 Tuapse–[[Sochi railway station|Sochi]]
*1927 Sochi–[[Matsesta railway station|Matsesta]]–[[Adler railway station|Adler]]
*1928 [[Svetlograd|Petrovskoye Selo]]–[[Blagodarny, Stavropol Krai|Blagodarnoye]]
*1931 Vinodelnoye–[[Divnoye]]
*1931 Rostov-on-Don–[[Khapry]]
*1931 Komsomolskaya–[[Neftegorsk, Krasnodar Krai|Neftegorsk]]
*1931 Maikop–[[Khadzhokh]]
*1940 [[Labinsk]]aya–[[Shedok]]
*1942 Gudermes–[[Astrakhan]]
*1942 Adler–[[Sukhumi]]
*1944 Krymskaya–[[Starotitarovka]]
*1969 Divnoye–[[Elista]]
*1971 Zverevo–[[Krasnodonskaya]]
*1977 [[Anapa]]–[[Yurovsky (station)|Yurovsky]]
*1978 Krasnodar–Tuapse
*1987 Blagodarnoye–[[Budyonnovsk]]
*1989 [[Peshchanokopskaya]]–[[Krasnaya Gvardiya]]

In 1937 the North Caucasus Railway was renamed after the Soviet party leader [[Sergo Ordzhonikidze]] but soon reverted to its traditional name. It was in the late 1950s that most of the railway network was electrified.

In 1987 the line from Zverevo north to [[Chertkovo, Rostov Oblast|Chertkovo]] was transferred from the [[South Eastern Railway (Russia)|South Eastern Railway]] to the North Caucasus Railway, with the new connection between the two railways being just north of [[Chertkovo railway station]].

==External links==
{{Commonscatinline}}

{{Russian Railways}}
{{Transit in Russian Caucasus}}

[[Category:Railway lines in Russia]]
[[Category:Railway companies established in 1861]]
[[Category:North Caucasus]]
[[Category:1861 establishments in the Russian Empire]]