On the opposite end of the country, in Mariupol, work is underway to ease isolation caused by Russia’s harassment of merchant ships.

On the opposite end of the country, in Mariupol, work is underway to ease isolation caused by Russia’s harassment of merchant ships. To remove a rail bottleneck, Ukrzaliznytsia plans to double a final 25 km section of single track on the 480 km Mariupol-Zaporizhia line. This €4.5 million project would allow daily trains to increase from 30 today, to 49 in the future — 42 freight and seven passenger, Viktor Dovhan, deputy infrastructure minister, writes on Obozrevatel news site. Dovhan also said the state railroad might purchase four more GE diesel locomotives to service the line. Separately, Evhen Kravtsov, Ukrazaliznytsia, promises a “completely renovated Kiev-Mariupol night express,” referring to a ride that takes 17 hours.