Фото: БЖД
Belarusian railway workers are reluctant to take on assignments to Russia’s Bryansk Region because of security risks. To encourage them, Belarusian Railways has begun offering additional payments for such trips, according to the Belarusian Railway Community.
The issue concerns services through the Zakopytsse (Belarusian Railways) – Zlynka (Russian Railways) junction. The situation has become more acute following targeted drone attacks on the Unecha and Bryansk-Uzel railway stations. On May 21, for example, a drone struck a shunting locomotive at Unecha station, killing three Russian railway workers.
Under agreements between Belarusian Railways and Russian Railways, passenger traffic on the Bryansk–Homiel section is handled entirely by Russian locomotives and locomotive crews, while freight traffic is operated by Russian and Belarusian crews in an 80:20 ratio.
According to the railway community, locomotive crews are increasingly refusing to work on the Homiel–Unecha–Bryansk section. Such refusals are especially common when Belarusian crews are required to operate Russian Railways locomotives. This practice is used to allow Russian crews to take mandatory rest periods. There is also an unofficial belief that Belarusian locomotives are subject to an informal understanding under which they are not intended to be targeted in attacks.
“There have been cases where, in the absence of Belarusian Railways locomotives, Belarusian locomotive crews refused to operate a train using a Russian locomotive. As a result, the train remained at the station while waiting for the Russian Railways crew to complete its rest period. In the relatively calm years before, such a situation would have been virtually unthinkable,” the railway community said.
According to the report, management has so far refrained from taking disciplinary action against crews refusing to operate freight trains into Russia. Instead, it has opted to offer financial incentives. Sources said bonuses of between one and three base units are being offered for each trip.
The railway workers’ concerns are not unfounded. In 2023, a freight train hauled by a Belarusian locomotive derailed on the Unecha–Rassukha section after the tracks were sabotaged.
Earlier today, reports also emerged that another Belarusian passenger bus had reportedly been struck by a drone near the border between the Homiel and Bryansk regions.