16x9 banner

Rail Partners launches campaign to protect Ukrainian rail workers

  • Rail Partners has launched Kit for Kyiv, a campaign to fund body armour and helmets for Ukrainian rail workers travelling to the frontline.
  • So far, British rail companies have provided donations to protect over 2,500 rail workers.
  • Every £20 donation will ensure one Ukrainian rail worker can be fitted with an armoured personal protective vest and helmet.

Rail Partners has launched the Kit for Kyiv campaign, with British rail companies including Arriva, DB Cargo, FirstGroup and Transport UK providing donations to protect over 2,500 rail workers to kickstart the campaign. Supported by Rail magazine, this is an initiative in partnership with the Global Ukraine Rail Task Force to fund body armour and helmets for Ukrainian rail workers travelling to the frontline.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the railway has played a key role in the conflict. It has helped to evacuate civilians in the first days of the conflict, stepped in to provide a vital lifeline for grain exports, following the closure of the Black Sea Ports, and helped with troop movements and evacuating injured personnel. 

Known in Ukraine as the ‘Iron People', Ukrainian rail employees are often working in dangerous areas and are the last to leave territories under attack. Even away from the frontline, stations are often targeted by missiles and drones. They need protective equipment to keep them safe while they’re at work.

All funds donated in GBP/£ to the Global Ukraine Rail Task Force will go directly to the Kit for Kyiv campaign. Each £20 donation will ensure one Ukrainian rail employee can be provided with an armoured personal protective vest and helmet. Donations can be made here: https://www.we-aid.org/en/initiatives-2/allrail-support-ukraine-rail-task-force/

The campaign was initially launched at Rail Partners with Ukraine at Rail Live in June 2024. At the event, senior members of the Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) management board spoke about their experiences and the challenges Ukrainian rail workers are facing due to the ongoing conflict with Russia. There was also a panel discussion with commentary from the British rail industry involved in supporting the Ukrainian Railway.

The Kit for Kyiv campaign builds on the previous efforts of British rail companies to support their Ukrainian colleagues. Earlier this year, nearly 7,500 food parcels, paid for by donations from British rail companies, were delivered to Ukrainian Railway workers and their families with the help of the Trade Union of Railwaymen and Transport Construction Workers of Ukraine. The funds which supported this aid delivery were raised at the Rail Partners with Ukraine fundraiser in September 2023, at which Rail Partners and its private-sector passenger owning groups, freight operating companies, and other industry colleagues, raised over £106,000.

In January 2024, Andy Bagnall, Rail Partners chief executive, Steve Montgomery, managing director of First Rail, and David Brown, managing director of Arriva Trains, travelled to Kyiv to see first-hand the challenges Ukrainian rail workers are facing. They travelled as part of a delegation from the Global Ukraine Rail Task Force to show solidarity with rail colleagues working in the most difficult of circumstances and to continue to raise awareness of their ongoing struggle.

Rail Partners chief executive, Andy Bagnall, said:

‘The Ukrainian Railway – Ukrzaliznytsia – continues to pay a crucial role in the conflict. Rail Partners and its members are proud to launch the Kit for Kyiv campaign to provide body armour for Ukrainian train drivers travelling to the front line.

‘Ukraine’s ‘Iron People’ are often the last to leave territories under attack and the first to return, restoring life to a place again. There’s an ongoing need for the British rail industry to show solidarity with Ukrzaliznytsia. I’d ask anyone in the industry who wants to help to make a donation.’ 

Oleksiy Semerun, chairman of the Trade Union of Railwaymen and Transport Construction Workers of Ukraine, noted:

‘Protecting Ukrainian Railways employees is our top priority. The railroad has become a lifeline for the Ukrainian people, but it also continues to play an integral role in the war effort.

‘We are incredibly grateful for the generous donations we have already received that have made it possible to provide food packages to Ukrainian railway workers and their families. Any further donations to protect railway workers who work close to the frontline will be greatly appreciated’.

Notes to editors

  • To make donations to support Ukrzaliznytsia staff and for more information on the initiative, please visit:  https://www.we-aid.org/en/initiatives/allrail-support-ukraine-rail-task-force/
  • Gold donors include:
    • Arriva: Since entering the UK rail market in 2000, Arriva now operates 285 trains and covers around 9% of the entire network (by total revenue), with services ranging from rural commuter lines to long-distance and inter-urban routes. It is the only owning group running services under all operating models in use in the UK. Arriva’s companies include: Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, Grand Central, Arriva Rail London.
    • DB Cargo: DB Cargo UK is one of the UK’s leading rail freight companies, transporting everything from consumer goods, steel and scrap metal, to aggregates and automotives. The company offers its customers safe, sustainable and innovative rail logistics solutions, linking their supply chains to domestic and international markets through its extensive network, service and people excellence. DB Cargo UK is part of the broader, pan-European DB Cargo AG group, which since the outbreak of the ongoing war in Ukraine has played an important role in the relief effort, quickly establishing a rail bridge to transport goods in and out of the war-torn country.
    • FirstGroup: is one of the leading providers of public transport. It is the UK’s largest rail operator and one of its most experienced, running all types of passenger rail: long-distance, commuter, regional and sleeper services.  FirstGroup operates three Government contracted operations (Avanti West Coast, GWR, SWR) and two open access routes (Hull Trains and Lumo). Its businesses are vital to communities and the services it provides are critical to delivering wider economic, social and environmental goals. 
    • Transport UK: Transport UK is a leading private sector transport operator serving millions of rail and bus passengers every day. Owned and operated in the UK, the group runs Greater Anglia, West Midlands Trains, East Midlands Railway, and Merseyrail (as a 50:50 joint venture with Serco), as well as 11% of London’s bus routes. The company has been serving customers for over 20 years and is at the forefront of creating the future of transport in the UK.
  • Silver donors include:
  • Bronze donors include:
    • GB Railfreight
  • For rail industry colleagues, if you want to find out more about how you can support colleagues at Ukrainian Railways, please contact media@railpartners.co.uk
  • To find out more about Rail Partners with Ukraine and Kit for Kyiv, visit our website: https://railpartners.co.uk/our-work/kitforkyiv 
  • To see photos from the visit to Kyiv in 2024: https://media.railpartners.co.uk/resources/f/ukraine-visit-january-2024
  • To see photos of food donations: https://media.railpartners.co.uk/resources/f/food-parcels-delivered-to-ukrainian-railway-employees-may-2024

About Ukrainian Railways

Ukrainian Railways (UZ) is a state owned, joint stock company administering railway infrastructure and rail transport in Ukraine. Ukrainian Railways is the world’s sixth largest rail passenger transporter and world’s seventh largest freight transporter. Since the start of the conflict on 24 February 2022, Ukrainian Railways has played an important role in the war effort including:

  • Transporting millions of refugees to safety
  • Rebuilding infrastructure, including the bridge at Irpin, a strategic suburb west of Kyiv, in 29 days – a task which would normally take months 
  • Supporting the travel of world leaders and diplomats into Ukraine as well as transporting President Zelensky 
  • Initiating the Children’s Railway initiative to engage children in the railway so that their association isn’t just one of evacuation and war, but to demonstrate the potential of rail for adventure and fun. They have an ambition to become the most child friendly railway in the world 
  • Moving military personnel and materials as well as civilian freight traffic such as grain exports.

https://www.uz.gov.ua/en/about/

About Rail Partners

Rail Partners exists to make the railway better by harnessing the expertise and creativity of private sector operators for the benefit of those who use the railway, passengers and freight customers, and those who pay for it, including taxpayers.

Rail Partners provides advocacy and policy solutions for its private sector passenger owning group and freight company members. Rail Partners additionally provides technical services to train operating companies in both the public and private sectors. For more information regarding our membership visit:  https://www.railpartners.co.uk/