Freight transport in frontline regions is at risk of further decline due to Russian attacks on railway infrastructure, shortages of locomotives and drivers, and reduced availability of rolling stock. To stabilize the situation, Ukraine needs a separate government plan for the operation of a freight railway for the period of war and reconstruction.
This was stated by the President of Ukrmetallurgprom, Alexander Kalenkov, in a column for the CFTS.
According to him, in the second quarter of 2026, average daily loading volumes in the railway transport system decreased by 4% compared to the baseline, while in the Pridneprovsky branch of UZ the drop reached 17%.
Kalenkov emphasizes that for front-line regions, stable operation of the railway is important not only for logistics, but also for maintaining economic activity. If enterprises lose the ability to regularly ship products, this creates risks for the operation of factories, mines, elevators and other industries near the front.
" This is an element of state policy to preserve the economic and demographic presence of Ukraine in the territories that we strive to preserve,” he noted..
Kalenkov named the shortage of locomotive crews as one of the main problems. According to him, in 2026, about 30 trains do not operate every day due to a lack of drivers..
The situation with traction is even more acute. According to the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development, since the beginning of the full-scale war, Russia has attacked Ukrzaliznytsia 6,119 times, of which more than 1,500 attacks occurred in 2026. 508 locomotives were damaged.
Kalenkov warns: if this dynamic continues, the shortage of locomotives in freight transportation will grow in 2027. The problem may become especially acute after the ports are unblocked and industrial production resumes, when demand for transportation begins to grow..
Among the key decisions, he named the launch of the “railway Ramstein” - an international mechanism for attracting financing, locomotives, spare parts and technical assistance from partners.
" Without attracting external reserves and the effective operation of the “railway Ramstein”, Ukrzaliznytsia will not be able to cope on its own,” Kalenkov emphasized..
Separately, he proposed that the government develop five areas of action:
providing locomotive crews and other scarce personnel, restoring locomotive traction, auditing and repairing the rolling stock, strengthening the protection of railway infrastructure and creating a unified system for daily monitoring of throughput. Such a system should monitor the availability of locomotives, crews, cars, tracks, stations, border crossings and ports.
Kalenkov emphasizes that the main task is to prevent a situation where the railway gradually loses the ability to transport the required volumes of cargo, and the problem will become obvious after the restoration of demand for Ukrainian exports.