About us
01 / Who we are
2020year founded
Legal entity of the projectFundacja Transport Analytics and Monitoring (FTAM)
The Community of Railway Workers of Belarus (CRWB) is an independent research and analysis project specialising in the Belarusian railway sector. The project’s legal entity is Fundacja Transport Analytics and Monitoring (FTAM).
We bring together railway workers and transport specialists. We work with sources, documents and transport data to examine railway management, economics and safety, corruption and abuses, workers’ conditions and the military use of railway infrastructure.
Our team includes railway workers from every level of management and operations, among them specialists working within Belarusian Railway and the wider transport sector.
The community emerged in 2020 during the protests against the falsified election. Starting with strikes, coordination, defending workers’ rights and supporting colleagues facing repression, we developed our information work and research into the railway sector.
Our aim is transparency in the industry, accountability for decisions and respect for people’s rights. Reliable information helps society build a democratic Belarus.
Our main research focus
A state association providing rail freight and passenger services and one of the country’s largest employers. CRWB studies how this system works, from management decisions to their effects on workers and transport operations.
The 1,520 mm network sits where routes between the European Union and Russia, and between the Baltic and the Black Sea, cross. China–Europe trains pass through Brest, so the railway’s decisions matter far beyond Belarus.
02 / Areas of work
Management, staffing and working conditions
We examine internal decisions, management reshuffles and organisational change at Belarusian Railway. We report on staff shortages, plans to recruit migrant workers, and cuts to costs and benefits. We document pressure on railway workers: KGB checks, dismissals and searches for the “disloyal”.
Inside the railwayIncidents and their causes
We examine derailments, signals passed at danger, dangerous-goods incidents, equipment failures and fatalities. We reconstruct sequences of events and report on incidents that management preferred to conceal.
Incident analysisDecisions, authority and accountability
We investigate bribery and abuse of office in railway management, theft of fuel and materials, and smuggling through railway infrastructure. We follow criminal cases and the people who remain beyond the reach of investigators.
Investigations and analysisFrom decisions to their consequences
We analyse the railway’s financial results and losses, tariffs, transit, procurement and rolling-stock condition: Stadler trains, spare-parts shortages and failed locomotive deliveries. We show how Russian Railways, Russian forwarders and closed borders with neighbours affect the network.
Industry analysisVolumes, composition and change
We organise freight data going back to 2017, and exports of fertilisers, petroleum products and containers. We separately track rail traffic between Belarus and the occupied territories of Ukraine, and shipments that help circumvent sanctions.
Studies and statisticsMilitary use of the railway
We track military trains of the Russian and Belarusian armed forces, imports and exports of weapons and ammunition, and transport for military exercises. We study military infrastructure linked to the railway by comparing transport records, engineering documents and satellite imagery, and state which conclusions the evidence supports.
Monitoring reports03 / Principles
Objectivity, accuracy, impartiality, independence, honesty, accountability, safety and respect for human rights and freedoms.
We separate confirmed facts from assumptions and state what our conclusions rest on and what still needs checking.
We recognise everyone’s right to their own views, including disagreement with ours. Private life is inviolable: intrusion is justified only by signs of a crime or an offence.
We weigh the public significance of information against possible harm to sources and third parties. People’s safety comes before speed of publication.
04 / Working with sources
You decide what to share and how to contact us. You can contact us without giving your name or workplace.
Choose a contact methodSource information is handled only by a small, vetted group within the team.
GlobaLeaks, SecureDrop, email with PGP and messengers. The website is also available through a Tor mirror. Our contact page explains the capabilities and limitations of each option.
Encryption, access control and regular security reviews. Within the team we communicate only through encrypted channels.
Your device, message content and file metadata can identify you. Read the guidance before sharing material; we can help if you are unsure.
Site access
Use one of our mirrors or the Tor version. Current addresses are always listed here and in the site sidebar.
For access from Belarus, where the main domain of the website is blocked.
https://ddm77794q94il.cloudfront.net/https://d3vwdz5gk1fw6n.cloudfront.net/https://d165jnstxs4ozf.cloudfront.net/Copy and open in Tor Browser
https://vhosh2g7o4w42xm3li6tsn32pgbpln2vwvgmsohrwattsauleycvslad.onion/05 / Cooperation
We cooperate with partner organisations and institutions, including public bodies. We provide information and analytical support on Belarusian Railway, transport and railway infrastructure within our area of expertise.
To start a conversation, outline your subject, the question you want to address and how you would like us to reply.
Legal entity of the project
Al. Jana Pawła II 22, 00-133 Warszawa, Polska
