Historically, the armed resistance of an invaded people often takes the form of sabotage, especially of railway lines. But as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its second month, Ukrainians are far from sabotaging their trains. On the contrary, they’re keeping them running, whatever the cost. Since the beginning of the conflict, the ability of Ukrzaliznytsia (the Ukrainian national rail company) to maintain rail traffic, and even to increase it to ensure the evacuation of civilians, has played an essential role in the country’s survival. 

Ukraine has long enjoyed a highly developed rail network, with 14,000 miles (about 22,500 km) of track pre-war. Ukrzaliznytsia, among the largest railway companies in the world, has always played an essential role in the country's economy, both in terms of its freight transport capabilities and its ability to provide services to the population. 

By March 29, the rail company had evacuated more than 3.2mn passengers to the Western part of the country or abroad, and had also transported more than 6,700 tonnes of humanitarian aid sent by the West via passenger trains. Noting a slowdown in both the arrival of humanitarian aid and the number of displaced persons, Ukrzaliznytsia announced that it was able to reintroduce ten-day advance ticket reservations on a number of routes. Earlier, the chaos of the evacuations prevented the company from planning trips in advance, so that trips were only announced the night before.

“My job changed like every railwayman's in the country,” said Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, head of Ukrzaliznytsia’s passenger rail operations, to Business Insider earlier in the month. Ordinary railway workers – Ukrzaliznytsia’s 231,000 employees – must continue working despite the deadly threats they face. In the words of Ukrzaliznytsia CEO Oleksandr Kamyshin, who reports directly to President Zelenskiy, “the army and the railways are the most important structures in Ukraine right now.”

The company is facing more challenges with each passing day. “Before, 80% of our gas and fuel came from Belarus and Russia. Now we have to replace it from Europe. And that's not so easy, but thanks to our neighbours we’re able to transfer gas and petrol,” explained Viacheslav Yeromin, head of the freight division, to Business Insider. 

Vladimir Krot, who oversees safety, added: “tracks are damaged by shooting, bridges blown up, signal systems damaged. Bullets have hit locomotives. We've had casualties. These are all direct dangers to transportation, but we’ve maintained control of the technical infrastructure.” Let’s hope they can keep it that way.

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This article originally appeared in FPRI's BMB Ukraine newsletter. Click here to learn more about BMB Ukraine and subscribe to the newsletter.