First train from the mainland arrives in besieged Leningrad

February 7, 1943: to the sound of an orchestra, the first train from the mainland approached the half-ruined Finlyandsky terminus. The train that brought much-needed food to the besieged city was driven by the best crew of the Eu 708-64 steam locomotive from the Volkhovstroy depot. The crew consisted of the engineer I. Pirozhenko, the assistant V. Dyatlev, the stoker I. Antonov.

This became possible thanks to the breakthrough of the blockade of Leningrad and the construction of a railway on the southern shore of Lake Ladoga. Thanks to the selfless labor of the builders, by February 5, 1943, the main track 33 kilometers long was laid from Shlisselburg to Polyany in 17 days.

During the Great Patriotic War, the "Road of Life" was the only transport route across Lake Ladoga. It connected the besieged Leningrad with the mainland from September 12, 1941 to March 1943.

The total amount of cargo delivered to Leningrad along the "Road of Life" over the entire period of its operation exceeded 1,615,000 tonnes. During the same time, about 1 million 376 thousand people were evacuated from the city.