A night train departs from Kiev to Uskorod in western Ukraine. In Car 5, Anastasia reassures. With her 7- and 10-year-old daughters, they will be without a man in their box.
This is an innovation for the Ukrainian railway company Ukrzaliznytsia. The first coaches reserved for women in night trains came into service on Friday to strengthen the safety of passengers.
“I chose this option as I was traveling alone with my two daughters for the first time“, without her husband, Anastasia explains.”I was a bit apprehensive but saw that I could get tickets from the ladies box and immediately bought some“, continues the psychologist.
For her, it’s both security and comfort. “You can change and sleep at night. It is a closed place and not very pleasant to be with men“.
Men are very nice, but sometimes our interests don’t align
On the train to Ouzhgorod, three non-mixed carriages are grouped together in one car, but where the men are next to the others. Olena Vyacheslavivna, 60, says being able to choose is “a very good thing”. “Men are very nice, but sometimes our interests don’t align“, she believes, adding that her daughter took the ticket.”In the first minute, I felt that I had very good neighbors and that traveling would be a pleasure. So I am very happy to be here“, she says.
26-year-old Tatiana also feels “Very comfortable among women. This is even more true when I travel alone. This way, I’m sure no one will bother me. Even morally I feel very relieved“, she explains.
22-year-old Oksana considers the experiment positive, but a car should be reserved entirely for women, with real separation, not a few boxes in the middle of others, “To prevent men from continuing to pass“In front of the girls.
However, he notes that a male presence can sometimes be useful in certain situations. “I saw drunken men entering (the box) during a ride. So another person may come in the next compartment and say something“, she explains.
A response to a petition
The trial currently involves four night trains, two of which depart from the capital. The announcement follows an electronic petition that has gathered more than 25,000 signatures since it was posted on the government website in mid-May.
Text asking for reservation for women”At least one wagon“On all trains of more than six hours, quoting in specified cases”Not isolated“in”Torture“and”Deliberate touch“, too”Rape in carriages“.
Depending on its success, the policy of reserved seats for women could be extended, Ukrzaliznytsia company, which already tried to introduce the idea in 2010, before abandoning it due to lack of demand.
He also announced other measures such as more frequent armed patrols on trains, surveillance cameras in carriages, emergency buttons on coaches and installation of alarms on their doors.
A popular mode of transportation that was not affected much by the war
From the beginning of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian railway played an important role in evacuating civilians, transporting troops and supplies. The network is the largest in Europe with over 20,000 km of tracks and has always been very popular. Now, many women often travel alone across the country, while men often stay at the front.
Reliable and much cheaper, rail was more popular before the war than domestic air transport – disrupted from the start of the conflict – with higher costs and inadequate infrastructure.
Along with road, rail is now the only way to enter or leave the country.
So far, the Russians have not targeted Ukrainian railways except for the April 2022 strike at Kramatorsk Station (East), which left 61 dead and over 160 injured.
Some are critical of men
The petition demanding reserved boxes has sparked heated debates on social media. Many women spoke in support, but some men denounced it as a form of “segregation” or complained of being perceived as inherently aggressors.
On the Kyiv station platform, Andriï leaves with his mother, wife and their daughter on another train. When asked about the experiment, he decides the idea “Positive“But begs that there are also boxes reserved for men only.”So let’s play chess“, he jokes.
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