Transportation
Orsha became an important transportation center after the construction of a Dnieper River port. The coming of railway lines in the second half of the nineteenth century greatly contributed to the city growth:
- 1871: Moscow–Minsk–Brest
- 1902: Zhlobin–Mogilev–Vitebsk
- 1923: Orsha-Kryčaŭ
- 1927: Orsha-Lepel
Today, Orsha is a major railway node where the Minsk–Moscow crosses the northern Viciebsk line, which branches south to Mogilev and Kryčaŭ. All trains from Moscow and Saint-Petersburg bound for Western Europe pass through Orsha.
The city is also a junction of the important motorways: The M1 (E30) Moscow-Brest and the M8/M20 (E95) Saint Petersburg - Odessa.
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