(Kyiv) Moving east and the liberated territories remains quite an adventure in Ukraine, but Ukrainian railways have worked miracles in a few days to recover.
The most recent Russian strikes on Wednesday ravaged the electricity and drinking water supply network in the capital, Kyiv, which also affected rail transport on lines supplied by wires and catenaries. No less than 10 million Ukrainians were then plunged into darkness.
Still on Sunday, parts of the country’s largest city were in darkness and the streets were not lit.
This weekend, Kyiv’s Central Station, a monumental Soviet-era building, was plunged into gloomy darkness. Only a pale glow spread through the corridors and rooms.
This week they were putting up old wood-burning stoves in the waiting rooms to make sure they didn’t run out of heat this winter, but the air was terribly polluted with carbon monoxide.
Taking the train in the direction of Poltava, more than 300 km from Kyiv, to go to report, was therefore an ordeal in the aftermath of the Russian strikes. Several routes were affected and delays were piling up.
On Thursday, the train to Poltava-Kharkiv, hauled by an electric locomotive, arrived in Kyiv seven hours late, and it took eight hours to reach Poltava, because of power cuts, for a journey that usually lasts 3 hours.
Travelers relied on their good fortune to find where to sit. There were a few vacant seats in a crowded old sleeping car with no compartments. All the smells mixed together, the old apple core, the sausage, the sweat, and especially the smokehouse.
At each interruption, a violent jolt seized the car and then the train rolled to a complete stop. A few minutes or sometimes more than half an hour later, the convoy set off again.
The Ukrainians on board seemed to endure this long crossing with patience and a certain coolness. In the stifling heat, with no possibility of opening the windows, neighbors were even having fun and sharing their snacks, some were snoring in their bunks, while soldiers were constantly coming and going towards the smoking room at the end of the corridor.
The car attendant provided service with the usual efficiency and courtesy, bringing drinks, etc. Otherwise you could go and help yourself from the samovar near the exit.
And travelers who decide to go even further, to take the road from Poltava towards the east, Kharkiv, or even the liberated territories of Izium, Balaklia, will have to be zen, there are so many roadblocks, precautions to take, etc.
Returning to the capital on Saturday afternoon, what a contrast. Ukrainian Railways had restored normal service on the Poltava-Kyiv line.
The train was well on time at Poltava station and was waiting patiently on the platform. The carriages were in good order and the places assigned in the closed compartments.
The flight attendant came to close the blind to ensure that this evening line was not spotted by the enemy and slipped stealthily to Kyiv.
This time, not even a single failure. In the suburbs, you could clearly see that the capital was still partly in darkness, but the train even arrived… 10 minutes early.