Railways began to be established in Russia in the
19th Century and the rail line was built through Volhynia in the
1870s. By the early 1890s, the Ukrainian
Kiev-Brest line formed the main line through Volhynia, running roughly
northwest-southeast, serving Volhynian towns in between Kovel to
Berdichev (Berdichev was part of Volhynia until 1855, after which point it was moved into the Kiev Province for administrative purposes). A spur ran from Zdolbunov
(just south of Rovno) to Radziwill (Radziwilow). The Russians established the railway lines
with little regard for local municipalities; lines primarily led to Russian
cities or destinations and bypassed many important Ukrainian locations. For instance, of the 12 Volhynian cities that
were administrative centers for the 12 Volhynian counties, only one (Kovel) was directly served by the railway.
Furthermore, no direct railway link led between Kiev and Odessa, the two
most important Ukrainian cities (no direct highway link existed either!). From Ostrog, a person would have needed to
travel to Krivin, Wilbowno, Ozenin or Zdolbunov to catch a train.
This map shows the route in 1882. East from Kiev, a person could continue
travelling to Kursk, where connections could lead either to Kharkov or
Moscow. West from Kovel led to Lublin
(Poland) or Brest, in the province of Grodno.
A connection at Brest could also take a person to Moscow. Brest, along with Lemberg (L’vov) in Austrian
Galicia, were the two most important rail hubs near the western Ukrainian
frontier.
From an 1891 Volhynian calendar/almanac published by a company in Zhytomyr, we find
the local railway table. Prices are
given in rubles/kopecks and distances are given in versts (1 verst was about
the equivalent of 2/3rds of a mile).
With the current information, I don't know the railway schedule for this line. A similar publication (Volhynian calendar/almanac) published in 1906 indicates that there were 6 trains per day passing between Zhytomyr and Berdichev in that year. Zhytomyr and Berdichev were easily the largest cities in the area in the early years of the 20th Century, so it makes sense that train traffic would be busy between those locations. Out in the countryside trains probably didn't pass with as much frequency, but rail travel was the fastest, most efficient way to travel over land in those days.
