The convoy rolls slowly out of the center of Berlin, its eight automobiles tethered to a brilliant crimson locomotive. Vacation spot: Ukraine, because of a historic “rail bridge” delivering humanitarian assist to the besieged nation.
4 days’ journey, greater than 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) travelled and on the finish of the road, tonnes of meals and different necessities delivered to individuals in want.
The operation of the Deutsche Bahn (DB), the German rail firm, echoes the well-known Allied airlift — referred to as the “air bridge” in German — in the course of the Chilly Battle to assist town of Berlin throughout a Soviet blockade.
“It solely took 4 days” to arrange this cooperation with the Polish and Ukrainian railways which now permits this “rail bridge” to function repeatedly, explains Sigrid Nikutta, head of DB Cargo, the freight service of the general public firm.
Each different night, a convoy leaves the German capital after having collected donations from corporations and people all through the nation, at devoted factors or straight from producers and grocery store chains.
Pallets of child meals, containers of sanitary pads and tampons, small electrical home equipment, medical tools, flooring mattresses, blankets… the outpouring of generosity is so overwhelming that the containers replenish quickly.
“Every container is a message to Ukrainians: ‘We aren’t leaving you by yourself!’,” Nikutta says.
Among the many DB employees, morale is excessive. Workers take convoys to Poland the place they then hand off to native drivers.
The containers should later be unloaded and transferred as a result of the width of the rails in Ukraine is completely different.
When the prepare arrives in Ukraine, the nationwide railway takes over.
– ‘Respect’ –
The unfailing dedication of the staff of the Ukrainian nationwide firm to move meals and refugees from one finish of the nation to the opposite has earned the admiration of their colleagues to the west.
“They’ve my respect but additionally my concern as a result of everyone knows that that is harmful,” Nikutta says.
Nevertheless the dangers for the “rail bridge” are restricted, says DB Cargo spokesman Michael Schmidt.
“We don’t transport weapons, no oil”, he stresses, noting that for the reason that begin of the Russian offensive, assaults on the Ukrainian rail community have been uncommon as a result of “the Russians must preserve this infrastructure in good situation”.
All of the convoys, despatched to numerous Ukrainian cities and cities, have to this point arrived safely, Nikutta says with pleasure.
She even obtained {a photograph} of the arrival of the containers in Kyiv despatched by the mayor of the capital, the charismatic ex-boxer Vitali Klitschko.
“Many Ukrainians really feel at this time, after 4 lengthy weeks of struggle, what the Berliners felt on the time of the blockade by the Soviets” in 1948-1949, says the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, who attended the departure of a convoy this week.
“With out the large effort of the Allies on the time, what would this stunning metropolis have grow to be?” he asks.
“We now want different strong bridges, together with political ones, and a very powerful could be a prospect of EU membership for Ukraine”, says the ambassador, giving the beginning sign to the locomotive stamped with the slogan “We stand with Ukraine”.
smk-dlc/mfp/har/ach