Drone strike paralyses rail corridor in southern Russia 23 trains delayed

As many as 23 passenger trains have been delayed in Russia’s southern Rostov Oblast after infrastructure on a railway line was damaged in a reported drone attack, authorities said on Monday.

According to the Federal Passenger Company (FPC), passenger services are running behind schedule by up to seven hours following a disruption at the station in Persianovka, in the region’s October district. 

Railway staff have been assisting passengers on board affected trains, while additional supplies of food have been loaded at stations in Rostov and Likhaya.

The disruption comes amid what regional officials described as a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack overnight, during which more than 40 unmanned aerial vehicles were reportedly intercepted over the region.

Taganrog, a port city on the Sea of Azov, was among the locations where drones were shot down, according to Rostov regional governor Yury Slyusar. He said 11 districts across the region were also targeted, including Azov, Kamensk, Tarasovsky, Rodionovo-Nesvetaysky, Millerovsky, Aksaysky, Kasharsky, Oktyabrsky (rural), Myasnikovsky, Milyutinsky and Sholokhovsky.

Rail traffic was briefly suspended after damage was recorded to overhead contact lines near Persianovka, but engineers have since restored power to the system and train movement has resumed, officials said.

By Aghakazim Guliyev