NATO has limited ability to deliver troops and weapons to the border with Ukraine, the US military is working to solve this problem. In 2022, Ukraine received 500 trainloads of weapons and ammunition sent by Western countries and delivered by the US military. It is reported by Railway Supply magazine with reference to the Defense Express portal.

Tanks for Ukraine

It is noted that the railway was used for the transshipment of goods that were delivered to the Armed Forces of Ukraine by sea. And the indicator of five hundred military trains for Ukraine is actually quite high for the infrastructure of the NATO countries, given the “bottlenecks” that are still in the military logistics system of the Alliance states. For example, the lion’s share of railways in Europe is tied to electric traction, although practice shows that for the stability of the delivery of military cargo it is better to have more diesel locomotives.

Reconstruction of tracks to the port of Gdansk completed

A separate problem is that in the countries of Eastern Europe the density of railways is too low to satisfy all the needs of NATO, in particular, for the prompt delivery of military cargo to Ukraine. Or – for the rapid delivery of troops in the event of an attack by the Kremlin through the Suvalka corridor. The situation is also complicated by the fact that on the “eastern flank” of the Alliance, the European gauge of 1435 mm and the gauge of 1520 mm are still used simultaneously.

Although American military logisticians and their counterparts from the armies of Europe over the past 8 years, starting from 2014, have done quite a lot to “eliminate” the bottlenecks of the military logistics system. Otherwise, the delivery of weapons and ammunition for Ukraine by rail would have been “bogged down”. And this work to improve the infrastructure system continues now.

500 echelons of military aid for Ukraine look truly impressive. Especially when you remember that the US Army Transportation Command has so far only talked about 141 delivered trains of goods for the Armed Forces last year. Most likely, the figure of 500 shipments also includes supplies from other NATO countries, whose contribution also helped strengthen the Armed Forces.

Railway news you might have missed:

Olexandr Kubrakov may be promoted

Find the latest news of the railway industry in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and the rest of the world on our page on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, read Railway Supply magazine online.





Place your ads on webportal and in Railway Supply magazine. Detailed information is in Railway Supply media kit