The railway that will link Rostov-on-Don with Crimea through the new regions seized by Russia will be fully operational by the end of 2024, Russian media reported.
A spokesman of the Russian Railways holding company said in an interview with journalists that work on the restoration of the railway and construction of the new branch line began in September 2023. During this time, the first phase of the project has laid a 63 kilometre section and restored 140 kilometres of track. Two more phases will be completed by the end of 2024, which will include laying dead ends and interchanges for the tracks, erecting premises for duty officers at the stations and a number of other works. The spokesman for the holding company added:
The restoration of the road was going on in extreme conditions, literally under fire. There were constant shelling and incoming attacks. The enemy did not let us work, but the road has been restored, it will work, and we will transport cargo and then passengers along it.
Goods trains began running on the new route on 15 March. Passenger services will resume once the situation in the region normalises.
The creation of an overland corridor to Crimea through territories where the Russian army has expanded its military presence shows the high pace of the peninsula’s integration into the Russian Federation.
