Transport of the Firefighting Equipment to Help Ukraine

Since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, the railways have played an important role in the supply of aid and evacuation of the population. While ZSSK CARGO has been particularly active in increased iron ore shipments and is actively working to assist in grain exports to blocked seaports, one exceptional shipment across the country took place in early May.

The fact that the whole of Europe has come together to help Ukraine is reported daily in the media. There is less talk about how the railway helps to transport this aid to war-torn Ukraine. ZSSK Cargo not only helps with the import and transhipment of humanitarian aid. As a border country with Ukraine, exceptional transports also take place via Slovak territory. One of them took place in early May 2022. Its origin was in Italy and the cargo was truly unique. A total of 45 fire trucks were donated by various fire brigades from all over Italy, and the transport took place along the entire length by rail.

Minimum Overlap, Maximum Help

There is no doubt that firefighting equipment is currently extremely valuable in Ukraine. Due to the bombing and the unprecedented number of interventions, the work of firefighters during the war is often neglected, but it is absolutely essential. That's why such a shipment is so important. It was, of course, an extraordinary consignment, although the vehicles exceeded the dimensions of the normally transported goods only minimally. The customer for ZSSK Cargo was the Italian company Mercitalia, a member of the Italian railway group Ferrovie dello Stato (FS).

Four Groups Of Wagons into One Unit Train

In Italy, the train consisted of four groups of wagons, from different parts of the country. Some firefighting equipment came from the southernmost tip of Italy - the island of Sicily. However, the loading on the railway took place in four places. Six wagons arrived from Bari in Apulia, three wagons from Palmanova near Venice, seven from Bologna and six wagons from Turin. Trucks, pickups, as well as cars and trailers combined in a set of low-walled wagons Rgs at Cervignano del Friuli station near Trieste to arrive via Austria as one train to Bratislava-Petržalka.

When ZSSK CARGO Takes Over the Baton

The biggest and network-wide freight railway carrier in Slovakia had the task of transporting 28 fire trucks, 13 tanks, 1 trailer, 2 pickups and 1 minivan across Slovakia to the destination station in Veľká Ida. After about two weeks of searching for the ideal place for unloading and obtaining a transport route, Veľká Ida was chosen as the destination station. It allows not only smooth unloading but also space for the necessary training from Italian colleagues, while Ukrainian firefighters set out on the journey back home in donated vehicles to save lives and property again. Despite many obstacles, the hard and tireless work of the ZSSK CARGO dispatchers who worked on the solution of the route enabled us to finalize this exceptional help that came by rail.