'We keep running': Ukrainian rail unbowed in face of war

Ukrainian Railways CEO Alexander Kamyshin says service hasn't completely stopped since late February "for more than two hours", despite the fighting across the country

Ukrainian Railways CEO Alexander Kamyshin says service hasn't completely stopped since late February "for more than two hours", despite the fighting across the country

Ukrainian resilience in the face of the Russian onslaught also extends to its railways, proudly declares the head of the company that has kept trains running with nary a glitch since the war began.

Service hasn't completely stopped since late February "for more than two hours", despite the fighting across the country, Ukrainian Railways CEO Alexander Kamyshin told AFP at the InnoTrans trade fair in Berlin. 

Some 8,000 railway workers are fighting in the Ukrainian military. 

"That's the highest price because damaged infrastructure can be always rebuilt. But people? Lives and people skills: something we don't rebuild," said Kamyshin, who was invited to share a stand at the fair with Polish rail company PKP.

"We never stopped working for people. Never, not a single day," said Kamyshin, wearing a polo shirt emblazoned with his company's logo. 

We found out "how to fix everything so that (service) would never stop for more than two hours," he said.

Kamyshin said the railways were a vital lifeline for his battered country. 

"We restored the connection to Balakliya. That's the easiest way indeed" to reach the eastern city.

As soon as a new swathe of territory has been recovered from Russian forces, Ukrainian Railways sets to work stitching damaged lines back into the network. Thus a train left Kharkiv to reach Balakliya a week after the recapture by the Ukrainians. 

Looking to the future, Ukraine hopes to one day join the European Union, which would also mean integrating its railways into the EU network. 

"We already started that. There is no other way for us but to finally switch to (the) European standard gauge," he said.

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Originally published as 'We keep running': Ukrainian rail unbowed in face of war