Russian drones are stalking Ukrainian trains and trying to hobble the country's rail system

A woman looks out the window of Ukrainian passenger rail car in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday. (Angela Johnston/CBC)Social SharingWhen railworkers aboard a train travelling between the Ukrainian cities of Odesa and Dnipro began shouting at passengers to evacuate the carriages early Thursday, Anastasia Rybalchenko's mind immediately began racing through worst-case scenarios.

It was 4 a.m., an air-raid alert was in effect, and Russian drones had already struck a number of Ukrainian trains that week, including one just a few kilometres from the Polish border.

Rybalchenko, 17, and other sleepy passengers exited the train and trudged through the grass in a rural area that was about a 15-minute ride from her final destination, Kropyvnytskyi. When she was about 200 to 300 metres from the tracks, she put down a blanket and sat on the ground.

Rybalchenko drifted in and out of sleep while waiting for the all-clear to return to the train. But about two hours later, she was abruptly jolted awake by the sound of something whooshing overhead, followed by a series of explosions.

"We started running into the bushes and hiding," she said in a phone interview with CBC News from her home in Kropyvnytskyi.

"My heart was pounding like crazy. I didn't understand what was happening or what to do."

She quickly learned that it wasn't her train that was on fire, but infrastructure along the railway line.

In recent weeks, Russia has stepped up strikes on Ukraine's rail network, targeting trains and the approximately 20,000 kilometres of track that form a key transportation artery across the country.

With Ukrainian airspace closed, the rail network carries passengers across the country, and in some cases, across the border into Poland. With shipping in the Black Sea under constant threat, the rail network is also a key corridor for supplies and goods, including grain and aid.

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Earlier in the war, Ukrainian Railways frequently highlighted its ability to keep most trains running on schedule despite Russia's full-scale invasion. Now, the network is facing multi-hour delays, while new rules approved by the government Thursday prohibit passengers from boarding or disembarking during a red alert, which indicates a threat of a missile attack.

Russia's Foreign Ministry insists that railway hubs serving Ukraine's military are legitimate targets, while other Russian officials specifically claim that the attacks are on infrastructure related to the shipment of military cargo from Europe. 

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the deadly attacks are part of the Kremlin's strategy to destroy the country's economy and disrupt daily life.

Workers place the bodies of those killed into body bags after a Russian airstrike at a railway station in the Kyiv region on Aug. 5. Some two dozen railway workers have been killed in such strikes this year and more than 80 others injured. (Reuters)Mounting riskThis year, two dozen railway workers have been killed and more than 80 injured.

On Friday morning, at least one person was killed and seven others injured when a drone struck a train in the Kharkiv region. Officials with Ukrainian Railways said some of those injured were passengers who had not moved far enough away from the train during the evacuation.

In a statement, the rail operator said people need to stay 200 metres away from trains and railway infrastructure.

Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine's rail network by launching jet-powered drones, which can travel at speeds of up to 600 kilometres per hour and carry heavier payloads than earlier models.

Ukrainian officials say Russia is mass-producing the drones, churning out as many as 3,000 a month and that the drones' speed makes them more difficult to intercept.

Earlier this week, Zelenskyy chaired a meeting that looked at how to bolster the protection of the country's railway network, and also replenish its stock of damaged cars. 

Officials say around 300 locomotives and 120 passenger carriages were struck so far this year. 

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It was a jet-powered drone that struck a locomotive on Sunday while the train was parked a few kilometres from the Polish border.

Shortly before that strike, a train carrying former British prime minister Boris Johnson and other diplomats travelled through the same area before crossing into Poland.

Western Ukraine is typically far removed from the bulk of Russian strikes. But this week, Poland was forced to close two of its airports several times because of Russian drones near its borders.

Yulia Zaletska, a train steward with Ukrainian Railways, says she feels 'fear and great responsibility' about keeping passengers safe during her shifts. (Angela Johnston/CBC)Yulia Zaletska, 40, a train steward who has worked on Ukrainian trains since 2017, described heightened tension among railway staff and passengers.

"There are a lot of emotions, but you have to control yourself, because we are responsible for a large number of people," she told CBC News while working aboard a train travelling from Lviv to Kyiv.

She said she now frequently gets stress headaches before taking what she considers more dangerous routes in the eastern part of the country. On one journey to Dnipro, she said she had to evacuate passengers five separate times.

Conductor Andrii Hul' explained that a team at Ukrainian Railways monitors ongoing threats and, when necessary, makes the decision to stop a train. Information is then communicated to the conductor, who must also help determine where it is safe to stop.

Hul' considers himself lucky as he has not yet had to carry out an evacuation, but the 20-year veteran of Ukraine's railways says the intensifying attacks are taking a toll.

He frequently spends nights sleeping in a shelter during air raids, only to get up in the morning and drive a train.

Ukrainian Railways conductor Andrii Hul' says despite the risks, it is vital to keep trains running because the airspace remains closed and for many people, trains are the only way to get around the country. (Angela Johnston/CBC)"What would we do without the railway?" he said. "I would say it would be very difficult for people to get through this, because there are places where the railway is the only means of transport available to people."

For Rybalchenko, still shaken by Thursday's evacuation and the explosions, she says she will stick to travelling by car or bus in the future.

"It was really frightening … and after this trip, I'm not planning to travel by train anymore," she said.

"At least you'll get there, and you won't be delayed for five or six hours somewhere, and there won't be an evacuation."

Briar Stewart is a CBC correspondent, based in London. During her nearly two decades with CBC, she has reported across Canada and internationally. She can be reached at briar.stewart@cbc.ca or on X @briarstewart.