The railway comprises 13% of all track kilometres in Ukraine, but accounts for 47% of all traffic and 36% of the revenue of Ukrainian Railways. Its network covers around 57,000 square kilometres (22,000 square miles).
The railway is a key route, serving passengers and several industries, including coal mines, metallurgical, coke-chemical and pipe mills, engineering and machine-building plants, chemical, light, and food.
In December 2014, the Ukrainian government claimed ownership of the Donetsk Railway and the land its serves. All its affiliated companies under the control of the Ukraininian government were transferred to the temporary administration of either Southern Ukrainian Railways or Cisdnieper Railways.[2]
Structure
The Donetsk Railway administrative division consists of three railway transportation directorates all located in Lyman:
Because of the Russian occupation of Ukraine, authority over certain railways and stations was granted to Cisdnieper Railways and Ukrainian Southern Railways.[4] Currently,[when?] southern branches are under Cisdnieper Railways' administration, while the northern branches are still operated by the Krasny-Lyman Directorate. In 2016, trains recommenced operation on a separate branch in Luhansk, which had become separated due to the conflict.[5]
On 28 May 2016, rail employees of the Donetsk People's Republic in Yasynuvata demonstrated against not being paid by the Government of Ukraine.[6][7] On 28 July 2016, it was admitted that the protests were legitimate and the government owed the workers back pay. This involved a process of restructuring, an issue that the Ukrainian government is still[when?] trying to resolve.[8] A spokesperson[who?] stated that all personnel are still considered by the Government of Ukraine to be employees of Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) and has not recognised any other employer.[8]
