Last Tuesday, 12 September, a fundraising event held in aid of the Global Ukraine Rail Task Force raised a massive total £105,847 for its food package campaign.

The money raised by the event, titled ‘Rail Partners with Ukraine’, was a collective railway fundraiser to raise money for food parcels, and is enough to provide 7,056 food parcels that will be delivered directly to Ukrainian railway workers and their families.

As well as colleagues from across the railway industry, the event was attended by the rail minister, Huw Merriman MP and the Shadow Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh MP, and listened to speeches from Oleg Yakovenko and Yuriy Nemchykov, who are representatives of Ukrainian Railways (UZ) which has responsibility for delivering a functioning railway amid the current conflict.

The attendees heard how the mass exodus of people in the early stages of the war was coordinated; how the railway has been used to support military personnel as well as manage freight traffic such as grain exports, and how the railway has been maintained despite excessive damage to its infrastructure.

The Global Ukraine Rail Task Force was established at the beginning of the Ukrainian war to coordinate support for the country’s freight and passenger rail companies, as well as refugee trains. It has been working with WE-AID on a donation campaign to raise funds for Ukrainian railway workers and their families and over the last year has raised €100,000, which is enough to provide 6,000 food packages for workers on the front line. Each package costs about £15 and contains flour, pasta, rice, salt, corn and wheat grits, oil, canned fish and meat, paté, tea, condensed milk, sugar and biscuits, with all of the ingredients being sourced from within Ukraine.

As well as this fundraising event, Network Rail is helping to rebuild the Ukrainian railway infrastructure and last year DB Cargo ran a train loaded with 1,500 tons of food direct to Ukraine.

Rail Partners’ chief executive Andy Bagnall, said: “Rail plays a pivotal role in supporting communities, businesses and the wider economy here in Britain. Running a railway on a daily basis in normal conditions means hundreds of individual operational decisions taken to deliver for passengers and freight customers.

“That is why, in the midst of the current conflict with Russia, the efforts of our colleagues at Ukrainian Railways are remarkable. The railway has been, and is, a critical means to transport vital supplies, evacuate civilians and support the wider economy.

“Ukrainian rail workers have stepped up to deliver for their country alongside the Ukrainian armed forces. The decisions they make and the work they do are more important than ever before. That is why as an industry we came together to support this great cause.”

CEO and chair of the UZ Railway management board, Yevhen Liashchenko, said: “Since the first day of the invasion, our rail infrastructure suffered significant damage and destruction.

“Despite all of this, we are restoring the infrastructure the Ukrainian railways continues to meet all transportation needs of the state, both at home and European markets.

“The event is of great importance and serves as a reminder for the whole civilian world that right now, Ukrainian railway workers are real warriors fighting on the battlefield.

“We’d like to express our profound gratitude for your support of Ukrainian railway workers in these difficult times.”
‘Rail Partners with Ukraine’ was funded in its entirety by the private sector members of Rail Partners and the proceeds raised will go directly to purchasing these food packages.”

David Brown, managing director of Arriva UK Trains, said: ‘The entire Arriva UK Trains family is delighted to be sponsoring this important ‘Rail Partners with Ukraine’ event. The Global Ukraine Rail Taskforce has done a remarkable job in supporting the men and women whose vital work and dedication has kept Ukraine’s railways running in the face of extraordinary challenges. It’s fantastic to see the UK railway industry come together and rally around such an important cause.”

Steve Montgomery, managing director of First Rail and chair of Rail Partners, said “FirstGroup are pleased to have supported this event and the Global Ukraine Rail Task Force.

‘The UK rail industry will continue to share expertise, partner with colleagues and do what we can to help. ‘The Iron People’ of Ukraine have the full support of their railway family in Britain, and we are inspired by their commitment, ambition and resilience in the most testing of times.”