Russian rail faces collapse after Ukraine’s Kursk invasion
Ukraine’s surprise invasion of the Russian Kursk region has not left the latter’s rail untouched. The attack led to rail congestion in the area, and now Kursk and surrounding areas are no longer accepting freight trains coming in from Belarus.
The Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region has prompted Russia to move soldiers from all over the country to contain the Ukrainian advance, says the Belarusian Railway Workers Association (BelZhD). The inflow of soldiers to the new front by train has overcrowded stations in the region. For that reason, Russian Railways (RZD) says it can no longer accept freight trains coming in from Belarus in the direction of the Smolensk and Kursk regions.
RZD notified its Belarusian counterparts about the infrastructure overload, according to BelZhD. Russian Railways put the measure in place on 12 August with no end date mentioned, which likely means Moscow itself does not know when it can resolve the issues.
Shortages once again hinder RZD
BelZhD says that Russia used a significant part of the Moscow Railway locomotive fleet to move its military to Kursk, as soldiers are even taken from the country’s most remote regions. However, there are now many abandoned trains waiting to be taken elsewhere. A shortage of locomotives and drivers hampers RZD’s ability to do so.
Western sanctions are at least partially responsible for the locomotive shortage. They have limited Russia’s capacity to acquire much-needed spare parts, and maintenance is suffering because of it. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and military mobilisation have also caused a widespread labour shortage, which is felt at RZD.
Earlier, the company announced on Telegram that it would be handing out sign-up bonuses to attract new employees, in similar fashion to recruitment efforts by Russia’s military.
Kursk invasion
Ukraine launched its surprise invasion of Russia’s Kursk region in early August. It continues to occupy hundreds of square kilometres of the region’s territory. According to Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to expand their occupation of the Kursk region.
