Shevchuk promises direct route to Saint Petersburg to Tiraspol inhabitants

The Transnistrian leader Yevgeny Shevchuk, in a meeting with Tiraspol residents, said that the talks with the Moldovan authorities on the restoration of the Chisinau – Saint Petersburg passenger train route through the Transnistrian region did not produce results. He stated he will hold negotiations directly with high-ranking officials of the Russian Railway services so as to find possibilities of establishing railroad routes to the cultural capital of Russia directly from Tiraspol or Bender, the news agency PMRinform said on its website. Contacted by Info-Prim Neo, Deputy Minister of Transport of Moldova Valeriu Ciubuc, who coordinates the working group on transport, said the problem is not political, but purely economic. According to Ciubuc, Russia and Ukraine do not pursue financial goals for restoring the passenger traffic through Transnistria. The problem resides in the low number of passengers. “At a recent international conference centering on the railroad routes in the CIS in 2013, it was considered abolishing the Saint Petersburg route from Moldova. We managed to keep it and to defend our interests. Thus, that train will continue to run along the old route, through the north of the country,” stated the deputy minister, adding that two cars were added for the Transnistrians who travel by the Chisinau – Saint Petersburg train, which are loaded in Bender. Valeriu Ciubuc also said that the Russian side reduced the number of Chisinau – Moscow routes through the Transnistrian region for the same reason – the low number of passengers. Ukraine and Russia do not want to sustain losses. The official Chisinau said it is more difficult for the passengers to go from Ocnita to Chisinau along a distance of 250 kilometers in order to take the train to Russia. It is easier for those from Bender or Tiraspol to come to Chisinau as the distance is of only 50 kilometers.