Ukrzaliznytsia introduces additional security restrictions in Kharkiv region
JSC "Ukrzaliznytsia" has decided to restrict a number of rail connections in the Kharkiv region; some direct long-distance routes will be replaced with connecting services using suburban electric trains.
According to Ukrinform, the company stated this on Facebook.
"We inform you about additional security restrictions.
The enemy is intensifying strikes on the railway, in particular on rolling stock. While maintaining operations despite all threats, Ukrzaliznytsia is responding to growing challenges in order, as much as possible, to reduce risks both for passengers and for railway workers," the statement said.
Under these conditions, operational decisions have been made.
Thus, "a number of connections, including in the Kharkiv region, are being temporarily restricted. Bus operators are organizing connecting services to final destinations (passengers on the affected routes will be informed separately)."
Some direct long-distance routes are being replaced with connecting services using suburban electric trains. Passengers affected by these changes will be notified separately.
"In certain sections, particularly in frontline regions and in areas where increased enemy activity has been recorded, a special traffic regime is being introduced. Unscheduled stops are possible, which may affect train punctuality, including services from the Kharkiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, as well as routes connected with them," the company noted.
Ukrzaliznytsia emphasized that while punctuality and speed are important, nothing is more important than safety. Passengers are asked not to plan tight transfers and to allow extra time for possible delays for security reasons.
As Ukrinform previously reported, on January 27 Russian forces attacked the Barvinkove–Lviv–Chop passenger train with attack drones. At the time of the strike, there were 291 passengers on board.
The hit occurred, among other things, in one of the railcars carrying 18 people.
Following the Russian attack on the railway in the Barvinkove community of the Kharkiv region, the bodies of four victims and fragments of human remains were discovered. Efforts to establish the exact number of fatalities are ongoing.