Usually, when traveling by train between countries that use different railway gauges, passengers need to change trains
-
Usually, when traveling by train between countries that use different railway gauges, passengers need to change trains
However, sometimes on long-distance or sleeper connection, an alternative solution is used – bogie exchange
The entire train is rolled into a maintenance depot, then railcars are decoupled and lifted off their bogies (the element that wheels are attached to) using a special crane
Bogies get rolled out, and a new set is rolled in to align with a car and lower it back down onto it
That procedure is used for freight cars e.g. on the China-Russia border, but also it's a standard procedure for passenger coaches, in such cases doors get locked for the time of the operation and passengers remain inside while the cars are worked on
This allows multiple long-distance connection from Ukraine to Europe to exist, before the war and COVID also allowed multiple Russian trains to enter European rails
Video showing how it's done: https://youtu.be/2nI467sc-Eo
