Why do Finland's trains run in Ukraine but other European trains can't?
Russia has damaged or destroyed nearly 600 Ukrainian locomotives, deliberately hunting the machines that pull Ukraine’s trains after Ukrainian crews got too good at repairing track.
Ukraine asked Europe for replacements, but most European locomotives can’t run on its rails: the standard European gauge is 1,435 mm, Ukraine’s is 1,520 mm, and that 85-millimeter gap shuts out most of the continent.
Finland’s railway is different. It was built to Russia’s imperial gauge on the order of Tsar Alexander II in 1857, when Finland was part of the Russian Empire. Today Finland’s 1,524 mm network is just four millimeters off Ukraine’s, but still close enough to work.
In this video I break down why Finland’s ten donated Dv12 diesel locomotives matter more than the number suggests, why diesel engines are vital when Russia knocks out Ukraine’s power grid, and how Estonia’s 60-plus candidate locomotives could turn this into a locomotive coalition.
Source: Wes O'Donnell
