On 6 November, Ukraine and Moldova resumed the movement of passenger trains on the Kyiv-Chisinau route after a 24-year break, European Pravda reports.
Train number 351/352 will be running every other day with a departure from the Kyiv Passenger station at 17:02, arriving at the Ungheni station at 07:53, and to the capital of Moldova Chisinau at 10:38. The return route will depart at 17:45, pass Ungheni at 20:51 and arrive in Kyiv at 11:48, making a one-way trip 13 hours long.
Currently, the “Victory Train” is running on the route. Each of the train’s seven cars is dedicated to a temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.
The “Victory train” traveled through the regions of Ukraine from Uzhhorod to Kharkiv and from Kyiv to Odesa, and also became the venue for a special briefing by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
In honor of the resumption of railway communication between the Ukrainian and Moldovan capitals, a ceremony was held at the Chisinau railway station on November 6. The event was attended by the Ambassador of Ukraine Marko Shevchenko, Ambassador of the USA Kent Logsdon, Ambassador of Romania Cristian-Leon Turcanu, Director General of Iasi International Airport Romeo Vatra, and others.
The head of the Moldovan Railways, Oleg Tofilat, in his speech at the ceremony, stressed that the re-launch of the route is an important stage in the development of the entire regional communication. “This train will provide a good connection to the airport, we intend to simplify the logistics to the airport, to Iasi, and to Bucharest,” he said.
