Regional Train No. 826 Dnipro-Avdiivka. A Route Without Changing

Ukrzaliznytsia continues to restore rail service in the front-line region. In December 2020, the "Maiak" train Kyiv-Avdiivka No. 135/136 made its first trip on the new route. In June, a new regional train was launched, No. 826 Dnipro - Avdiivka, which linked two neighbouring regions — Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk. The train runs along a railway whose construction began 140 years ago, in 1881. For almost a century and a half, the Katerynynska steel main line has remained an important railway stretch with heavy traffic.

Train No. 826 runs daily except Wednesday. Departure at 09:56, arrival at 14:05. From 1 August 2021, the train arrives in Avdiivka 18 minutes earlier than on the previous schedule. The train stops at the stations Synelnykove-1, Chaplyne, Prosiana, Mezhova, Pokrovsk, Ocheretyne. The longest stop is at Synelnykove-1 — 17 minutes. At Pokrovsk — 5 minutes, at Chaplyne and Mezhova — 2 minutes, at Prosiana and Ocheretyne — 1 minute. From Avdiivka, train No. 825 Avdiivka - Dnipro departs at 15:45 and arrives in Dnipro at 19:43. The consist is made up of six second-class carriages. A ticket from Dnipro to Pokrovsk and Avdiivka costs 128-150 hryvnias depending on the day of the week. On Friday and Sunday the price is at its highest. That is twice as cheap as going by bus, and takes 1-1.5 hours less.

Tickets can be bought at all stations, but it is better to do so in advance; online reservation of travel documents opens 10 days ahead. On a weekday — but not on Friday — there are always free seats. All the seats in the carriages are fitted with a backrest-adjustment mechanism and equipped with folding tables (mounted on the back of the seat in front), armrests, cup holders, and footrests. Removable disposable fabric headrests are attached to the seat backs and are replaced after every trip. At the passenger's disposal are luggage racks. Air conditioning is not provided. A comfortable climate in hot weather is guaranteed by open windows and thick curtains. The carriage windows are made of multilayer triplex glass which, if accidentally broken, does not crumble or scatter into shards; the glazing is double. The train's average speed is 60 kilometres per hour, and it stops at all halts on schedule without delays. Smoking is forbidden in the saloons, vestibules, and inter-carriage spaces.

The carriages are attended mainly by male conductors, because serving passengers and maintaining the life support of the consist along the whole route and on the return journey requires considerable physical strength and endurance.