EU Commits $43 Million to Upgrade Ukraine’s Railway Network

The European Union has allocated nearly $43 million to Ukrzaliznytsia for Euro-integration projects aimed at enhancing Ukraine’s railway network. Ukrzaliznytsia’s press service confirmed the approval of this project under the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program on July 16, 2024.

The project focuses on upgrading the railway infrastructure and developing 1435 mm gauge tracks to ensure technological compatibility and increase capacity. The total budget amounts to $85.91 million, with CEF providing $42.95 million to Ukrzaliznytsia.

Specifically, the funding will support:

• Reconstruction of railway structures with implementation of 1435 mm gauge tracks on the Chop — Lviv section.

• Reconstruction of railway structures with construction of 1435 mm gauge tracks and electrification on the Lviv — Chernivtsi — Vadul-Siret — state border section.

• Development of a strategy for reconstructing the Lviv railway junction, considering future expansion of the 1435 mm gauge railway network aligned with the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) on Ukrainian territory.

• Design and construction of 1435 mm gauge tracks with electrification on the Pavlove-2 / Matiivtsi — Uzhgorod section.

• Electrification of 1435 mm gauge tracks on the Chop — Uzhgorod section.

Additionally, the funding covers costs for compliance assessments with TSI requirements for the aforementioned projects and sections like Kovel — Yahodyn — state border and Medyka / Mostyska II — Lviv (Sknyliv).

CEF, established in 2014, is the EU’s funding instrument for investments in transport, energy, digital, and telecommunications projects, notably supporting the development of the TEN-T network.