Since Vladimir Putin launched his attack on Ukraine on February 24, over 1,600 Polish trains have departed from the Ukrainian border, according to polskieradio24.pl.
More than 330,000 refugees have used these to reach various parts of Poland, while over 200,000 decided to travel further, to countries such as the Czech Republic and Germany, the website reported.
“Ever since the war broke out, Polish railway workers have been involved in helping Ukraine,” Infrastructure Minister Andrzej Adamczyk told a news conference on Friday, as quoted by polskieradio24.pl.
The number of Ukrainian passengers is steadily growing, with most heading to hubs such as the capital Warsaw, Przemyśl in the southeast, Kraków in the south, and Wrocław in the southwest, officials said, according to polskieradio24.pl.
Free tickets
“Until the end of March, Ukrainian refugees are entitled to free train tickets,” Polish Deputy Infrastructure Minister Andrzej Bittel told reporters, as cited by polskieradio24.pl.
So far, the national long-distance rail operator PKP Intercity has issued almost 900,000 such tickets, the website wrote.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland Andrii Deshchytsia has thanked and congratulated Poland on how “swiftly and effectively” it set up new rail links “to transport Ukrainians fleeing the war to Poland,” as quoted by polskieradio24.pl.
Friday was day 30 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Poland on Friday reported it had welcomed 2.24 million refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: polskieradio24.pl, PAP