stantsiya-2-krivoy-rog

станція 2 – Кривой Рог
Station 2 – Krivoy Rog

That was indeed the most bizzare experience during the trip. This is the largest city in the central Ukraine, the second largest city in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and a city of regional significance (which means that it is a county of its own)… or actually it used to be, because since 18 July 2020 it is a part of Kryvyi Rih Raion. The city was founded in the 18th century by Zaporozhian Cossacks, but what is interesting is what happened later. This used to be a small town, in 1920, when the Red Army took it over, it's population was 22571 people. Previously there was also a lot of investment from the foreign investors that were centered around the iron ore that was really present in the area. The redevelopment after the Second World War was the most interesting. New mines and works were built, a trolleybus network was created and the network of trams was extended, a lot of commie blocks were constructed. The city now includes a lot of external neighbourhood that are being populated by the people from the whole USSR. There are now 7 raions (districts) in the city, according to the city's official website its length is 126 km and it is the longest city in Europe. Let's assume it's true.

This is important, as the city looks almost like it were stuck right in the 80s. Ladas, commieblocks, old infrastructure, everything. The only difference are some higher-tech validators in the trams, iPhone repair ads and the fact that you can use your bank card in the premetro stations. However, if you want to pay differently, you still have to use regular plastic tokens. The trams and buses are old KTM-5s and ZiU-9s, mostly. The city residents can use their public transportation for free, using the electronic Kryvyi Rih Card, but the single-ride tickets are really cheap, 2.5₴ (0.08€, yes, 8 eurocents). Marshrutas are a bit more expensive, we paid for 1 ride as far as I remember 7₴.

In 1989 the city almost hit the threshold of 800000 people, which was close enough to the magical 1 million that in 1974 already it was decided that the city will have a light rail network similar to a metro (close to what in German is called a Stadtbahn). The same idea has been implemented in Volgograd. This light rail was intended to be converted into a metro system at some point. On 26 December 1986, the first 8 km long segment was opened with four stations. After 1991, the line was extended northward, reaching in 2001 18 km and 11 stations. In the same oblast there is also another underground rapid transit – Dnipro Metro. They decided that they want to continue the construction of the full metro system, which turned out to be a mistake. Don't get me wrong, Dnipro Metro is an interesting system, but the construction is much slower and currently the light rail in Krivoy Rog carries 40 million people annually and the Dnipro Metro – 7.5 million. The difference is substantial, but it no surprise – in Krivoy Rog the system is nicely integrated with the tram and it is indeed really convenient.

What was kinda striking is that so many people asked us why have we visited the city. Not as an insult, they were just really curious why would anybody visit the city. The people we encountered were just really, really friendly, including a Polish priest that has been living there for a few years and was the head of the local Roman Catholic parish. BTW, speaking of the city's natives, this is a group that includes the current president of Ukraine – Volodymyr Zelensky.

Although it is not a common destination, it is definitely worth visiting.

Arrival: 076 К, Kyiv-Pasazhyrsky 21:28 – Kryvy Rih-Holovny 06:23

Departure: