DUSHANBE, October 29, 2013, Asia-Plus — Unidentified persons have attacked the Moscow-Dushanbe train in Russian territory.
Mohammad Egamzod, an official representative of the Tajik Embassy in Moscow, says the incident took place during the technical stop at the Ternovka freight station, the Yugo-Vostochnaya Railway (Southeastern Railway) at midnight on October 26.
“According to information received, some 20 young men of the Slavic appearance attacked the train; several passengers sustained slight injuries and 20 glasses were broken. The attack was accompanied by offensive words and racist threats against the passengers,” said Egamzod. “Transportation police officers and the railway station employees did not take any measures to prevent the attack.”
The train crew chief wanted to send a telegram to the next railway station, Volgograd, but the Volgograd railway station refused to accept it, saying that there is no an appropriate agreement between the Russian and Tajik railway companies, Egamzod noted.
“Moreover, two officers of the Russian Railways security inspection service’s office for Astrakhan oblast that were escorting the train from Moscow to the Russian border (Aksaraysk railway station) also did not take any measures and did not inform the appropriate services about the incident,” the Tajik Embassy representative said.
The Tajik Embassy in Moscow has applied to the Russian side with solicitation to impartially investigate the xenophobic attack that occurred with the connivance of local law enforcement authorities and representatives of the Yugo-Vostochnaya Railway and to cover all expenses related to the attack.
The Yugo-Vostochnaya Railway (Southeastern Railway) is a subsidiary of the Russian Railways headquartered in Voronezh. Despite its name, the network operates the railways in the southwest of Russia. Its area of operation comprises Voronezh, Belgorod, Kursk, Ryazan, Tambov, Lipetsk, and Penza regions. The railway route length totals 3648 km (as of 1991); it includes 257 stations and 13 locomotive yards
