Hundreds of kilometers of tracks were destroyed in the war against Ukraine – and yet the Ukrainian railways usually roll through the country on time. Whether regular passengers, state guests, military equipment – the railway holds the country together.
When part of a train was hit by a rocket at the Kherson train station in early May, something remarkable happened. The train attendants and helpers immediately brought the passengers to safety, uncoupled the destroyed wagon and drove off.
It happened so quickly that the train arrived at its destination almost on time despite the impact. Word got around quickly in Ukraine. Deutsche Bahn employees are held in high esteem at the moment.
Drive towards the front
The route from Kiev to Kherson is risky because the journey leads close to the front. According to the timetable, the train is supposed to travel eleven hours through the night – and yet it is fully occupied. The passengers lie on narrow bunks to the right and left of the narrow central aisle. It is more reminiscent of a submarine than a couchette car. You have to bend down to avoid hitting your feet sticking out from the upper bunks.
700 kilometers lying down in third class, including bedding and a glass of tea, cost the equivalent of four forty euros. The train is popular and inexpensive. Each car has its own conductor.
Largest employer in Ukraine
Here in car five, it’s Halena. She is currently entering all the names and ticket numbers of her passengers in a list by hand. She has been working for Deutsche Bahn for six years, which is the largest employer in the country with 266,300 employees. Halena looks serious and focused. Almost depressed.
She hesitates when asked whether this route Kiev – Kherson is a safe or rather unsafe route. She doesn’t know yet, she says. It is only the second time that she drives the route. “It’s okay,” she replies curtly when asked if she’s a little nervous and then, to calm herself: “Well, yes, it’s almost normal here.”
The railway is the largest employer in Ukraine. Conductor Halena is only going on the route to Kherson for the second time.
Take care of the passengers
She has an emergency in mind. “I am concerned that the passengers will get to their destination safely. If something happens, we will provide first aid.” What do you do to calm down a little? “I calm myself down and we also have a manager on the train.”
Halena has three children at home. When she first drove the route to the front, her eldest daughter knew. But this time she doesn’t know that her mother is going there again: “Otherwise she worries, I don’t want her to be worried.”
Cherson is constantly attacked by the Russian military. The train will stop there for 50 minutes and then return to Kiev. In the meantime, Halena has to clean up the car.
“The railway sews the country together”
“As always, the railways sew the country together today, they are great people and heroes,” says the Ukrainian writer Serhiy Zhadan, describing the Ukrainian railways. In fact, Ukraine is a railway country – as is Russia.
While Germany relies on the autobahn, air traffic and rail, the railroad is everything in this flat country. Especially in the war, since the airspace is closed.
There is one crucial detail here: the Ukrainian rails have the same gauge as the Russian ones: 1520 millimeters. That’s 85 millimeters more than the international average. That means the Russians can just roll in and out of this rail network.
You don’t have to reload anything. However, this is then necessary to the west, because the neighboring countries there have narrower rails.
At the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian railway transported four million fleeing people to the borders. Here a train from the Donetsk region in Lviv.
Whoever controls the railway controls the country
The railway is part of the sensitive infrastructure. At the beginning of the war, it transported almost four million people fleeing to the borders. Ammunition and war equipment are transported with it, as are foreign state guests.
The rail network, which is around 20,000 kilometers long, is a constant target of Russian attacks. More than 500 kilometers of Ukrainian railways have been destroyed since the war of aggression, as have 126 stations, 50 of them completely.
Ukraine itself has often blown up railway bridges to stop advancing Russian troops. The railway is an instrument of conquest. Whoever controls them, so the impression, controls the country.
Going home by train
In the second class at the window, a soldier looks into the darkness. He’s been standing there for a long time, supporting his bandaged elbow. He comes from Bachmut, he says: “Then I was in the hospital. Now I’m going home. I wasn’t at home in Cherson for a year.” He has 30 days vacation, then he goes back to the front.
“The trains here run exactly according to the timetable. That’s the way it should be,” says the soldier. “Regardless of whether there is a war or not, logistics are crucial. Nothing works without them. The train is important, people can go back home to work.” It’s quiet here, very different from there, at the front. “We always hid there and crouched in ditches.” He looks back through the pane into the night.
This soldier has not been home for a year. Now he has 30 days vacation.
Punctual to the minute
The train is on time to the minute. It is a success that was also politically rewarded: the last head of the railways, Oleksandr Kamyshin, was appointed Minister for Strategic Industries in March. However, it was only announced last week that corrupt employees were also being investigated at Deutsche Bahn.
In the conversations on the night train to the front, nothing is heard of this, satisfaction with the Ukrasalisnizia seems to be great. “The trains run no matter what,” says Dasha, who is studying acting in Kiev and is going home. “Even if they get hit by a missile. They’re still going.” Her friend Anja adds: “These people from the train risk their lives. Every day.”
Conductor Halena now turns off the light. It’s getting dark in the third-class couchette car. Snoring can be heard from the back corner. The train rolls on towards the front. And will also arrive in Kherson on time.