Russian Railways reported the restoration of train service in southern Russia.

Transport infrastructure in the Krasnodar Krai, disrupted by heavy snowfalls, has been restored, the North Caucasus Railway reported. Throughout January 2, trains in the Kuban region experienced long stops and delays.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," the Federal Passenger Company and the Kuban operational headquarters reported that passengers on stranded trains before the New Year had been provided with thousands of food packages. They attributed the delays to the massive snowfalls in the Krasnodar Krai. Passengers had to celebrate the New Year in the cold and with inoperative restrooms. Not everyone received the promised food, and they had to wait more than a day for the train to depart, according to complaints on social media. By the evening of January 2, trains in various Russian regions were still experiencing hours-long delays, and passengers continued to complain of food and water shortages.

Power supply to the overhead contact system and automated train control systems in Krasnodar Krai has been fully restored, and the railway infrastructure is ready for normal train operations, the North Caucasus Railway announced this morning.

"Transport infrastructure facilities damaged on December 31 due to abnormal snowfalls have been restored. All necessary measures have been taken to reduce train delays," according to a statement on the North Caucasus Railway's official Telegram channel.

The company noted that more than a thousand railway workers were involved in the cleanup efforts. The report does not specify how many trains are still delayed in southern Russia. Information on actual train movements is available by calling the 24-hour Russian Railways Customer Support Center.

According to the Federal Passenger Company, at least six trains scheduled for January 2 were delayed late in the evening or overnight. These trains include Imeretinsky Kurort - Moscow, Adler - Rostov-on-Don, Adler - Moscow, Adler - Vladikavkaz, Vladikavkaz, and Moscow - Adler.

Other trains were also delayed that day: for example, as of the evening of January 2, the Adler - Kislovodsk train, which departed at 9:59 PM Moscow time on January 1, had been stuck near Belorechensk for over 12 hours, with the total travel time exceeding 24 hours. The train was scheduled to arrive in Kislovodsk at 11:27 AM Moscow time on January 2.

“We've been standing here for 12 hours now. There's no power, the heating's turned off, it's cold in the carriages. I'm with three small children (...). The toilet in our carriage isn't working, so we're going to another one. The children are cold and scared. My phone's battery will soon run out, and we'll be completely without communication. I can't imagine how I'm going to survive a second day here with children,” V1.RU quotes a passenger, a Volgograd resident.

Another train, departing at 7:40 PM Moscow time on January 1, was stuck in a field near Belorechensk from the morning until late evening on January 2.

“There were stops overnight, we woke up at 9 a.m. (January 2nd) and found ourselves stuck in a field. The conductors didn't know anything, no one had any reception, and it turned out we were stuck 40 km outside Belorechensk. All the roads were snowed in, and cars couldn't get through. Passengers started panicking and bought all the food in the dining car. Then the restaurant car started giving out free porridge to the children. There was no reception until 6 p.m., then we moved 20 km, and everything started working again. Everyone still doesn't know when we'll be leaving,” Kubanpress quotes a passenger on one of the trains that was stopped at 9 p.m. Moscow time on January 2nd.

According to the publication, that same day, passengers on a train that stopped in another part of Kuban, near Kropotkin, complained of the cold in their carriages. "The situation is complicated by the generator failure, resulting in no power in the carriages. The restrooms quickly overflowed. Passengers noted that it was getting quite cold. They later reported that emergency services had delivered water to the carriages. It was distributed in bottles to passengers," the publication states. More than a dozen trains were also stopped near Kavkazskaya station on January 2, but passengers were able to purchase water and food in stores after disembarking.

The Russian Railways press service, commenting on the train delays in the Krasnodar Territory on January 1, stated that "a comfortable temperature is maintained in the carriages." The company stated that passengers can only count on compensation in the form of RZD Bonus points and increased loyalty program membership levels.

"All passengers whose trains were delayed for 15 hours or more will be awarded 12,000 points, equivalent to a trip of up to 1,000 km in a compartment (for example, from Astrakhan to Sochi). All train passengers who were forced to celebrate New Year's en route will have their membership level in the RZD Bonus loyalty program upgraded," according to a statement on the company's website.

One of those who spent New Year's on the stranded train was Georgy Natadze, a correspondent for Business FM Krasnodar. His train arrived in Kislovodsk a day after departure, having been parked all day since the morning of December 31st near Kavkazskaya station.

"Natadze noted that they were "very lucky" to have stopped at a station where they could get out for food. The train, which had gone ahead, became stuck in a field near Armavir with a disabled generator, no power, and overflowing restrooms. Passengers were not provided with official food throughout the day, only water was distributed," according to a post on the BFM Kuban Telegram channel.