Europe | The Kyiv-Kramatorsk express is back

Ukrainian Railways reconnects a city scarred by a bombing

The resilience of the network is a wonder

Passengers walk on a platform at a railway station in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region on October 14, 2022 as the Intercity train came to the city after a long break since April due to missile strike on the station, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Anatolii Stepanov / AFP) (Photo by ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images)
|KYIV

KYIV’S CENTRAL train station is a majestic example of Soviet neo-classical architecture, all soaring arches and granite tiles. In the early days of the war thousands of locals desperate to escape Russia’s invasion slept on the floor here, stumbling over each other during air-raid blackouts as they waited for the next train west. Now it hosts happier stories. On October 14th Alina, a young woman holding a bouquet of yellow and blue flowers, was in the main hall waiting to meet her sister, who had fled to Poland. “I haven’t seen her for eight months,” she said, fighting back tears.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “The Kramatorsk express is back”

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