The head of Ukrzaliznytsia is for restoring trains to Crimea: Ukraine’s losses have exceeded a billion dollars
Today, the acting head of Ukrzaliznytsia, Alexander Zagorodny, announced that his department may soon resume railway communication with Crimea. If, of course, Zagorodny manages to win over the Ukrainian government, which must either give such a command or not.
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About it writes Ukrainian Forbes.
Zagorodny also criticized the plans of nationalist activists to block the railway lines leading to Crimea and advocates the restoration of railway communication with Crimea.
“This is pure populism,” he said.
Zavgorodniy states that Ukrzaliznytsia can resume railway communication with Crimea in a very short time if the government gives the appropriate order. “Technically, it is possible to restore the message. The only thing is that there are several problems with the inspection of the train, as well as customs and border control procedures,” noted the head of the department.
Kyiv began blocking passenger rail transportation to Crimea in October-November 2014, and from December 27, absolutely all flights to the peninsula were canceled. And in less than a year, the situation has become critical: according to Zagorodniy, the transport blockade has led to a significant reduction in passenger traffic and, as a consequence, to a significant drop in the income of Ukrzaliznytsia. It is impossible to recoup the department’s work with domestic train flights alone,” Zagorodny admits. The only way to preserve the industry’s infrastructure is to open the way for trains to Crimea through Ukraine.
The speech of the head of Ukrzaliznytsia did not go unnoticed by nationalists - a member of the Verkhovna Rada Anti-Corruption Committee Igor Lutsenko (who is part of Yulia Tymoshenko’s inner circle) hastened to accuse Zagorodniy of treason and doubted the official’s suitability for his position:
“Such a position by the head of the railway department indicates the official’s personal interest - perhaps this railway worker would like to make money on some operations with Crimea.”
However, one should not overestimate the influence of Igor Lutsenko and his entire parliamentary faction - it is unlikely that Zagorodny, considered “Poroshenko’s man,” will be deprived of his post for his proposal.
By the way, the other day the administration of the President of Ukraine officially requested from Ukrzaliznytsia a report on the department’s financial losses associated with the cessation of railway communication with Crimea. The amount of losses has not yet been announced, but, according to experts, it could be about a billion dollars.
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