IsraAID Delivers First Aid Training for Ukrainian Railways Staff on Railway Rolling Stock

Kyiv, Ukraine. Friday 10 July. For immediate release:

IsraAID Ukraine’s Health Program continues to implement the FAT for Railway project, aimed at strengthening first aid skills among Ukrainian Railways personnel. The project specifically targets staff working in regions regularly affected by missile and drone attacks, as well as those involved in evacuation operations, equipping them with lifesaving first aid skills. 

Since the project launch in September 2024, more than 1,000 Ukrainian Railways employees have completed the training. Since the beginning of March 2026 alone, 314 specialists from various railway departments have participated in the program. 

The project reaches railway workers across Ukraine, with a particular focus on the eastern and southeastern regions, including Donetska, Kharkivaska, Sumska, Khersonska, Mykolaivska, and Odeska oblasts, where the risk of direct missile and drone strikes on transport infrastructure remains especially high. 

Throughout the project, the Trade Union of Railwaymen and Transport Construction Workers of Ukraine has been a key partner, ensuring reach to the categories of railway workers in the greatest need of the training, participants coordination, logistics support, and safe venues. 

Skills That Save Lives 

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s railway system has remained one of the primary targets of Russian attacks. According to The Eastern Europe, railway infrastructure (including stations, locomotive depots, maintenance facilities, and passenger trains) has been attacked more than 4,000 times. 

In recent months alone, passenger trains have been a repeated target. In May 2026, a train conductor was injured during an attack on a passenger train in Dnipropetrovska Oblast. Several additional attacks in April resulted in fatalities and injuries. According to law enforcement authorities, these attacks claimed the lives of 165 people, while 920 others were injured. 

Due to the persistent security threats, Ukrainian Railways has introduced emergency passenger evacuation procedures during air raid alerts, temporarily stopping trains and evacuating passengers from the carriages to reduce the risk of mass casualties in the event of a strike. Evacuation trains also play a critical role in transporting civilians from frontline areas and communities affected by intensive shelling. 

In this context, first aid skills have become an essential part of professional preparedness for railway personnel, who often work in high-risk environments and may be the first to assist injured passengers or colleagues before emergency responders arrive. 

Practical Training on Evacuation Trains 

In June 2026, IsraAID Ukraine, together with the Trade Union of Railwaymen and Transport Construction Workers of Ukraine, conducted another series of trainings in Kyiv. For the first time, the program included railway carriages operating on regular routes that may be used for evacuation operations. 

The participants included evacuation train supervisors – professionals who work daily on some of the most challenging and dangerous railway routes and are responsible for ensuring the safe evacuation of passengers. 

The practical sessions took place inside real railway carriages, allowing participants to train in conditions closely resembling actual emergency situations. 

Under the guidance of certified instructors, participants practiced a variety of emergency response scenarios, including providing first aid in the confined space of a train carriage, responding to traumatic injuries affecting both passengers and railway staff, and safely evacuating injured individuals from the train. 

“Today, railway workers operate in extremely challenging conditions and are often the first people able to provide assistance before emergency medical teams arrive. That is why we strive to ensure that the knowledge they gain is not only theoretical but also directly applicable to the realities of their work. As part of the training, practical sessions aboard evacuation trains allow participants to rehearse life-saving procedures in the very environment where every second can make a difference. We are grateful to Ukrainian Railways and the Trade Union of Railway Workers and Transport Construction Workers of Ukraine for their partnership, which helps make this training systematic and accessible to railway employees across the country,” said Larysa Koval, Health Program Manager at IsraAID Ukraine.