New rails from Europe on the way to reconstruct Ukrainian infrastructre
France will supply Ukraine with new rails, produced by rail manufacturer Saarstahl. Much of the rail infrastructure in Ukraine is destroyed, and so is the only producer of steel rails in Ukraine AzovStal, was was settled in Mariupol.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal signed an agreement with the French minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire on December 13 for the delivery. Ukraine signed three other agreements with international partners that day, all relating to support for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
New German rails from France
The agreement on the supply of rails for Ukrainian Railways amounts to support of the French government of up to 37.6 million euros. According to Bloomberg, this concerns a loan for Ukraine to purchase the rail material built by Germany’s Saarstahl AG in France.
In addition to the rails, loans and support were granted for the emergency restoration of power transmission networks, the supply of bridges and a program to support the digital industry of Ukraine.
Plant Azovstal as a symbol of resistance
The plant of the Ukrainian rail manufacturer Azovstal was almost completely destroyed by Russian bombardments in May. The plant had become a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance, as it was their last holdout in Mariupol amidst Russian shelling. On 16 May, the units that were stationed in the plant were ordered to evacuate to save their own lives.
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For, contemporary making good of something bad, reconstructing should include upgrading – for an optimal, a safe and sustainable infrastructure.
(All other modes upgrade for higher loads, etc. – and for lower costs.)
Regrettably, at EU, at TEN-T, etc., now infrastructure decisively is “cemented”, at tech. standards, since long, not optimal.
(Resiliency and redundancy, devastatingly, is missing at railways – and now plaguing – all society.)