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Ukraine’s national rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia says it is deploying more than 800 modular shelters across the country to protect staff amid a surge in attacks on railway infrastructure.

The expansion comes amid a significant escalation in strikes on Ukraine’s transport network. According to Ukrainian officials, nearly 1,000 attacks on railway infrastructure have been recorded since the beginning of the year alone. 

The company said the shelters are being manufactured internally and deployed primarily in high-risk locations, including critical rail junctions, technical facilities that maintain train operations, and stations that lack permanent bomb shelters. 

Worker protection and operational risk

The goal, officials say, is to provide immediate protection for workers during air raid alerts, particularly in areas where rail operations cannot be paused for long.

Each mobile unit is designed to withstand blast fragments and allow personnel to quickly take cover when warning systems are activated. Ukrzaliznytsia said the shelters are intended to reduce casualties among railway staff, who often remain on duty during attacks to keep trains running.

The urgency of the program was highlighted by a recent incident in the Kharkiv region, where a train conductor survived after reaching one of the newly installed shelters shortly after an air raid alert. The passenger carriage she had been working in was later destroyed in a drone strike, underscoring the narrow margins between evacuation and impact in frontline regions.

Mobile shelter installed at a Ukrainian railway site, part of a nationwide rollout by Ukrzaliznytsia to protect staff during air raid alerts amid ongoing strikes on rail infrastructure. Screenshot from video: Ukrzaliznytsia

Sustained attacks on rail infrastructure and personnel

Ukrzaliznytsia described the deployment as part of its wider resilience strategy aimed at maintaining rail connectivity under sustained attack. The railway system remains essential for civilian travel, evacuation routes, and freight movement across the country, even as it operates under frequent threat.

Earlier assessments from Ukrainian authorities indicate that the rail network has been hit thousands of times since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, with rolling stock, depots, bridges, and stations increasingly affected. 

Officials also report a shift in tactics in recent months, with trains themselves becoming frequent targets during attacks, particularly in frontline and nearby regions.

Ukrzaliznytsia has warned that the intensity of strikes has placed sustained pressure on both infrastructure and personnel, with dozens of railway workers killed since the start of the war. 

Against this backdrop, the company says expanding rapid-access shelters is one of the most immediate ways to reduce risk while maintaining essential rail operations.

Read also

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• Russia strikes rail infrastructure in two oblasts as campaign to sever Ukraine’s civilian railways intensifies

• Russia struck two trains within 24 hours — and Ukrzaliznytsia says rolling stock is now a primary target

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