Ukrainian Railways is playing a vital role in the evacuation of civilians from the Russian invasion. Conrad Emmett has been examining the situation for the country’s railway.
As the bombs fall and tanks roll closer to Kyiv, Ukrainian Railways is asking for help to evacuate civilians from the city of Volnovakha.
It hopes the International Committee of the Red Cross can provide a “green corridor” to get people out.
In peacetime, the state-owned, joint-stock rail network had a total track length of more than 23,000km. It has offices in the largest Ukrainian cities: Kyiv, Donetsk, Lviv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro.
Despite an invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin on 24 February, which has seen missile and artillery attacks across the country, the rail operator is still providing news and updates to the outside world.
Today, it said it was ready to send trains in to get vulnerable people out of Volnovakha. “The city is a state of humanitarian catastrophe: after several days of bombing by Russian troops, it is blocked by the enemy, delivery of provision, water and medicine is impossible,” it said in a statement.
“Ukrainian Railways are ready to provide trains for the evacuation of civilians if the Red Cross negotiates safe passage and humanitarian corridor.”
Mass evacuation
Rail has found itself crucial to evacuating people from Ukraine.
Just under one week ago, the country closed off all commercial flights. Since then, Ukrainian Railways has been running evacuations from the increasingly war-torn region, as Russian troops move in.
On 26 February, two days after the invasion started, Ukrainian Railways said that its infrastructure had not been damaged and operations would continue in an attempt to get people out.
Links to Russia, however, had been allegedly destroyed, according to a statement from the rail operator to The Kyiv Independent. This had been carried out in an operation by Ukraine’s armed forces.
Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, CEO of passenger services at Ukrainian Railways, said last Friday that more than 100,000 people had been evacuated in a single day by the railway. “We keep the Ukraine Railways passenger network under control and running to get people an opportunity to escape military brutality and aggression,” he said to industry colleagues using LinkedIn.
”Only [the cities of] Kherson and Mykolayiv are not connected with passenger service as rail stations are evacuated.
“10,000 vulnerable people evacuated, total of 120,000 people we moved today to safer places.”
At that time, several trains were running to Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. A separate transport hub was set up at the Chop railway station. Nine pairs of trains ran daily from Chop station to Záhony in Hungary.
Additional evacuation routes were scheduled from the capital Kyiv to Western regions Uzhgorod, Volyn, Chernivtsi oblast, with the possibility of a hub transfer to Romania, Hungary, and Poland – and its regular service to Warsaw was also running.
As of Monday 28 February, the operator said it was continuing to evacuate civilians, with half a million already having escaped immediate danger.
It said it was giving priority to children, women and elderly people. Because of a declaration of martial law, men between the ages of 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave as Ukraine has mobilised its reserve forces.
The next day, it said that people were still being moved, and it was delivering coal to assist steel manufacturing. This coal originally passed through the Ukraine/Russia border. As this was now impossible, the rail operator was helping trains deliver using a new route.
Alexander Kamyshin, chairman of Ukrainian Railways, said: “Ukrainian Railways employees will deliver the cargo on a new route despite the risks of shelling and attacks by sabotage groups. The company will also do everything possible to protect personnel – train security will be strengthened because the safety of the personnel is also an important priority.“
Coal delivery to the steel plant, the operator said, is an extremely important task because, without fuel, steel furnaces can stop functioning.
Mauro Longobardo, CEO of steel producer ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih said: “This is an example of effective and efficient cooperation between the state and business. Thanks to Ukrainian Railways and our parent company, we will be provided with raw materials and will be able to maintain production at ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, a strategic enterprise for the Ukrainian economy.”
The statement continued: “The exploits of the Ukrainian railways’ workers will allow Ukraine to rebuild faster after our victory over the invaders. Thank you, colleagues, for your courage and #NervesOfSteel.”
Outside help
Deutsche Bahn (DB) is one national railway company trying to help.
Among its measures have been special train services. Refugees with a Ukrainian passport or identity card could use all long-distance trains from Poland to Germany for free. It said extra trains were also being put on.
“DB is in close contact with the federal government, the BMDV and federal and state authorities as well as their partner railways in the neighbouring countries of Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria,” the operator said in a statement.
“Together with the Polish railways, DB is preparing to put any additional transport capacity that may be required on the rails at short notice. Additional wagons and special trains can be used for this purpose in cooperation with the Polish State Railways.”
It said it was also putting together an aid fund and housing and providing a “helpukraine” ticket to give refugees the chance to go anywhere they need to.
“We are deeply affected by the war in the middle of Europe and want to help with our possibilities to alleviate the suffering of the people. Here, too, Deutsche Bahn is showing its attitude,” explains DB HR director Martin Seiler.
Staff at DB were also being given time off if they had relatives from Ukraine they needed to look after.
Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are also among those offering ways Ukrainians can travel for free.
Want to help?
If you want to help people fleeing or trying to flee the war, there are some major organisations you can lend support to:
- Save the Children has set up a Ukraine appeal to help the 7.5 million children at risk.
- The British Red Cross also has a page asking for donations to get supplies and healthcare through.
- The UNHCR, which helps refugees, has released a special statement on its efforts in Ukraine.
- UNICEF, which is getting clean water and food to Ukrainians in need, is also hoping for donations.
