Russia’s state-owned railway company Russian Railways has suspended the sale of tickets on trains to and from Crimea, Russian state news agency TASS reports, citing the company.
The consequences of the explosion on the Kerch Bridge. Photo: social media
All the immediate scheduled trains have been cancelled. Currently, two trains are delayed: one from Moscow and one from Saint Petersburg, both on its way to Simferopol. Russian Railways has also informed the customers that they would be able to return the tickets for delayed or cancelled trains.
All of today’s buses to and from Crimea have also been cancelled, TASS reports, citing the carrier.
Furthermore, the Kerch Strait ferry line has been reopened, Russia’s Transport Ministry reports. The first ferry is already on its way to the terminal so it can be loaded up, three more ferries are being prepared.
The Transport Ministry promised to restore railway traffic on the Crimean Bridge by 8PM (GMT+3) today, October 8.
According to Russia’s Ministry of Energy, there are enough car fuel reserves in Crimea to last 15 days.
The article previously stated that it was Russian Railways that had suspended the sale of tickets. However, passenger transportation to Crimea is organised by the Grand Service Express transportation company. Russian Railways have only just shared a message about the suspension of ticket sales.
Earlier today, an explosion occurred on the Kerch Bridge. At the time of the explosion, a goods train carrying flammable materials was passing over the bridge. It caught fire. The arches of the bridge are undamaged.
Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee reported that an explosion of a truck had occurred on the bridge. As a result, two automobile spans collapsed, and seven fuel tanks of a train caught fire. By 10AM local time (GMT+3), the fire had been put out.
“Ukrainian vandals managed to reach the Crimean Bridge with their bloodied hands after all. They now have something to be proud of: in 23 years, they did not manage to build anything worth paying attention to in Crimea, but they did manage to damage the fabric of the Russian bridge,” head of Crimea’s Parliament Vladimir Konstantinov wrote in a post on his Telegram.
