Since Tuesday morning, the Kyiv metro has again been running continuously on the red line between Akademmistechko and Lisova stations – the previously damaged Chernihivska station is being passed through without stopping. Kyiv city administration announced this on Tuesday, 20 October, as Radio Svoboda reports. The station will remain closed to passenger traffic for the time being, it said; a separate announcement will be made about reopening.
The trigger was a Russian attack with several ballistic missiles in the night of 19 October. One of the missiles hit Chernihivska station, the penultimate station on the red line on the left bank of the Dnipro. Since the morning of 19 October, trains therefore terminated at Darnytsia station.
Damage to tracks and power rail
According to Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko, more than 70 specialists were deployed to deal with the aftermath. Glass splinters and construction debris had been completely removed. “In the final phase, work is under way on the damaged tracks and the contact rail. Restoration of the power supply and train control is in progress. These works in particular are the most difficult. They have been running since the night,” Klitschko said, according to the news outlet NV.
The acting head of the Kyiv city military administration, Andrii Tkachenko, said the tracks were the most affected and the extent of the damage was considerable. “So far we cannot predict when the station will go back into operation. The specialists on site are assessing the condition of the damage. The tracks are damaged, and very badly, but equipment and spare parts are available, so all works will be carried out as quickly as possible,” Tkachenko said. The city military administration was initially unable to give even an approximate reopening date.
According to the Kyiv metro, the shelling damaged the facade of the above-ground Chernihivska station as well as tracks and cable networks, as the news agency Interfax-Ukraine reports. The assessment of the extent of the damage is still ongoing, after which the time needed for repairs can be estimated.
More buses, detours via Darnytsia
To improve connections between the city districts, according to Klitschko, more buses were deployed on routes 1-M and 118. According to the city administration, three buses are being added on the temporary route 1-M between Lisova and Darnytsia, twelve buses run from Lisova to Palats Sportu; two more are being added on route 118. This is also intended to relieve Darnytsia station, where traffic would otherwise be concentrated.
Klitschko also pointed out that the works have to be interrupted during air alerts because the workers go to shelters – this slows down the repair.
According to the authorities, a 21-year-old woman died in the attack in the night of 19 October and eight people were injured. Destruction was recorded in three city districts: in Solomianskyi district, a 25-storey residential building, a medical facility and the Cosmo Multimall shopping centre were damaged; in Desnianskyi district, a medical facility; in Dniprovskyi district, educational institutions. According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia deployed Iskander-M/S-400 missiles, Iskander-K type cruise missiles and 269 drones; air defence shot down four Iskander-K and 243 drones.
For passengers in Kyiv, this means for the time being: longer journeys on the left bank, full replacement buses and a red line that runs through again but does not stop at the damaged station. When Chernihivska will reopen depends on the result of the damage assessment – the city has so far given no date for it.
