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The Ukrainian Railways remain a subject of disputes for many years. Unsatisfactory technical condition and rolling stock deterioration caused railway accidents on repeated occasions. The rolling stock deterioration rate of the Ukrzaliznitsia (Ukrainian Railways) comes to 95%. Rail transport of Ukraine functions at the limit of its capacity.
Two major accidents happened this February. 25 tanks full by propane-butane derailed in the Donetsk region, 2 of them exploded and 5 ignited. Several carriages derailed and collided (one of them demolished a crosswalk over the rails) because of a technical problem in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Wheel pairs of 2 carriages derailed because of engine sump break of the locomotive in Zaporozhye region in 2013. The train Kiev–Sevastopol derailed because of the faulty switching of automatic direction change device, one carriage with kids turned over.
Ukrzaliznitsia is a monopolist in a railroad sphere of Ukraine which is not unprofitable according to the press but its profitability isn't high – up to 2%. However passengers should not look forward for positive shifts due to the lack of competition.
Chaos in the Ukrainian rail transport system led to the initiation a criminal investigation by the General Prosecutor's Office this March due to the exploitation of the Hyundai electric trains with technical faults. In addition, according to the General Prosecutor's Office, Ukrainian Speed Railway Company has been transporting passengers by the Hyundai electric trains without license. The trains broke constantly and passengers addressed to courts since the beginning of exploitation in 2012.
The situation has become considerably complicated because of ceaseless armed conflict between East and Kiev controlled armed forces, national guard forces and private armies. Ukrzaliznitsia company suffers enormous financial and image losses.
Actions of Ukranian armed forces endanger Ukrzaliznytsia's and Ukraine's international image. Donetsk railway press service informs that on June 9 representatives of the Ukrainian armed forces groundlessly detained Baku-Kharkov passenger train at the border between Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
According to one of the train passengers the Ukrainian military using brute force followed by threats of disembarking from the train conducted an illegal search of passengers and their baggage. The search and the interrogation were conducted despite the fact that all the passengers of the train passed customs examination at the Ilovajsk railway station. Nothing is yet known about the official Baku reaction but that kind of impudence may lead to an international conflict.
Skirmishes and bombing in the counter-terrorist operation area have led to railroad traffic violations, damage of railway bed and power supply systems and permanent changes of the railroad schedule.
Forums and social networks are full of railway employees' complaints about low wages, lack of premiums and adequate social guarantees. Lose of high hopes for the changes associated with the Maidan and unfulfilled expectations after replacement of the old oligarch group by a new one makes a huge force out of 390.000 Ukrainian railwaymen. Almost driven to the limit this force seems to have what to say in the Ukraine's political life.