Rail transport in Ukraine

Rail transport in Ukraine is a major transport mode in Ukraine. Most railway infrastructure in Ukraine is owned by the government of Ukraine through Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways), a joint-stock company which has a de facto country-wide monopoly on passenger and freight transport by rail.

The first railway tracks were constructed in present-day western Ukraine by Austria-Hungary, but most lines were built under the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union, resulting in a track web dominated by 1520 mm gauge railways. Part of the rail network in eastern Ukraine was privatized in the late 1990s, creating the biggest private railway company in the country, Lemtrans, which focuses on freight transport. Since the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014, intensified by the February 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, major parts of the Ukrainian rail network have been occupied by Russia-aligned military forces, while the Ukrainian government and Ukrzaliznytsia have undertaken considerable efforts to repair and transform the network for better vital logistical connections with the European Union (which mostly has standard-gauge railways) and Moldova.

Before Ukrainian independence
The railways in Ukraine were first built under the imperial rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (in the western territories, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Duchy of Bukovina and the Hungarian comitatus in Carpathian region), and later in the Russian Empire-controlled territories that held bigger portion of modern Ukraine, having seen major development and reformation since then.

On the territory of modern Ukraine, trains that were headed by self-propelled locomotives (as opposed to horse drawn railways) appeared in the 1860s on the efforts of Prince Leon Sapieha. He initiated the extension of the Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis from Przemyśl (Premissel) to Lviv (Lemberg). The first train arrived in Lemberg on 4 November 1861.

During the Crimean War in 1855 British troops built a 23 km long military railway line on territory occupied by the Allied military forces between Sevastopol and Balaklava to improve their military logistics in their fight against the Russian Empire. After the war, in 1856 the Russian authorities dismantled the line.

Later in 1860s the line from Lviv was extended towards Chernivtsi (at that time Czernowitz was a capital of a crown land Duchy of Bukovina) and Iași (at that time Jassy was in the Kingdom of Romania). Also in 1865 in the Russian Ukraine railroad began construction from Odesa towards Balta.

In 1869–70 in Russian Ukrainian gubernias saw the start of a major construction of the railway network from Kursk in the west to Kyiv and south towards Lozova (between Kharkiv and Dnipro) passing Kharkiv. Between Darnytsia and Kyiv the Struve Railroad Bridge was built. The Lozova railroad expanded eastwards towards the Donbas area through Sloviansk and reaching Horlivka. At about the same time the line between Odesa and Balta via Kremenchuk–Kriukiv was extended towards Poltava providing for a line on both banks of the River Dnieper.

In Kriukiv (now Kremenchuk) the Kryukiv Railway Car Building Works was built. In 1869 the Rostov-on-Don to Taganrog line was extended to Horlivka. Also in Austria, the railroad was extended from Lviv towards the Austria-Russia border near Brody and in 1870 it was extended to Ternopil (Tarnopol). In 1870 Kyiv, Vinnytsia and Zhmerynka were connected with the Odesa–Balta railway.

In 1871 the first Austria-Russia border rail crossing was built when Ternopil was connected with Zhmerynka over the Zbruch River near Volochysk and Pidvolochysk located on opposite banks of the river. In 1871 Poltava was connected with Kharkiv providing with an alternative to reach the city of Odesa and its port with the Russian central provinces through Kharkiv.

In 1872-73 a major expansion of the railway network started in Russian Volhynia branching out from the Kyiv-Odesa line near Koziatyn west pass Brest-Litovsk and connecting cities such as Kovel, Rivne, Zdolbuniv, Shepetivka and Berdychiv. In 1873 a branch line from Zdolbuniv was extended to Brody becoming another railway border crossing. Some railway network expansion took place in the Donbas area as well.

In 1873 from Znamianka in Central Ukraine located on the Poltava-Balta road another branch was stretched south towards the port of Mykolaiv on the Black Sea making it the second seaport in Ukraine connected to the railway network. At about that time the railway system expanded further towards the Drohobych-Boryslav oil fields and greater Sambor areas in the Ukrainian Carpathians and another branch line was extended along the Tisza River in Hungary.

In 1873-75 the line from Lozova was expanded towards the Crimean peninsula connecting Sevastopol with Kharkiv via the Chonhar peninsula.

For more information, see:
 * Imperial Royal Austrian State Railways
 * Hungarian State Railways (For Zakarpattia region)
 * History of rail transport in Russia
 * History of rail transport in Poland
 * Rail transport in the Soviet Union

List of populated places established with railroads
 * 20ty richia Zhovtnia (Zaliznychne)
 * Haichur (Ternuvate)
 * Irpin
 * Koziatyn
 * Zhuliany (Vyshneve)
 * Znamianka

1991–2014
On 24 September 1991, following the resolution of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) on separation from the Soviet Union, all railroad administration was temporarily passed to the South-Western Railways. According to the resolution, all assets located within the borders of the former Ukrainian SSR became property of Ukraine. To improve efficiency a special centralized administration was created. On 14 December 1991 the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine issued declaration No. 356 "In creation of the State Administration of Railroad Transportation in Ukraine" which proclaimed Ukrzaliznytsia a government body in administration railroad transportation uniting the six state railroad companies.

Russo-Ukrainian War (2014–present)
At the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014, the Russian Federation annexed Crimea and Sevastopol, while large parts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts were seized by Russia-backed separatists, severely disrupting rail transport throughout southern and eastern Ukraine.

As of 2015 the Ukrainian government transformed the railways into a public joint-stock company named Ukrainian Railways (Ukrainska Zaliznytsia).

Full-scale Russian invasion (early 2022 phase)
The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine showed the crucial role of railways in both civilian and military logistics in the area. Given the lack of roads passable during rasputitsa and the Russian lack of vehicles capable of off-road operation, logistics relied heavily on rail transport. Railway nodes became an important target of Russian attacks to maintain their own supply lines and disrupt those of Ukraine. At the same time, Ukraine's exports and imports were shifted even more to rail than in peacetime as Russia captured or cut off many important Black Sea ports that usually handle a large share of Ukraine's external trade. Railways were crucial in transporting refugees and European governments, and state railways organized special trains for humanitarian aid to and from Ukraine. As airports were targets of Russian attacks and/or Ukrainian counter-attacks, trains were also used for diplomatic visits by foreign heads of state and government.

2022 rail freight crisis
Due to the Russian invasion, many of the country's Black Sea ports were blocked, prompting a crisis in the export of agricultural products that were normally shipped. Railway freight has become the most viable alternative, but the Ukrainian railway network has not been able to cope with the demand, mainly because of the railway break-of-gauge between Ukraine's Soviet-era 1520 mm gauge railways and the standard-gauge railway (1435 mm) of states west of its borders has created bottlenecks at transloading stations. On 7 April 2022, Ukrzaliznytsia reported that 10,320 wagons (about half of the total) were waiting at the Ustyluh (Izov)–Hrubieszów border crossing on the Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa line, the main railway connection between Ukraine and Poland and the longest 1,520 mm gauge railway of Poland.

Efforts to quickly increase rail freight capacity have been launched, including construction of new large transloading stations near Mostyska and elsewhere, mainly in Poland. As of 12 April 2022, the Mostyka station was planned to be completed by June 2022, with a transloading capacity of 50,000 metric tonnes of grain per month by July, and 100,000 tonnes by September. Additional challenges included the need to increase the number of wagons, appropriate permits to let Ukrainian wagons ride in EU territory, and to increase the capacity of EU ports (such as Gdańsk, Hamburg and Rotterdam) that would have to take over the shipping role of the blocked Black Sea ports. There are also proposed to build more 1,520 mm gauge railway lines in Poland and Germany, eventually as far to the Netherlands.

Some railway stations have been damaged due to the war.

Restoration and modernisation (2022–present)
By October 2022, operations were underway to repair damaged railway infrastructure, while mines were cleared and unexploded ordnance were defused or safely detonated and removed. The railways had proven to serve an essential role for Ukrainian military, cilivian and humanitarian logistics, and the recapture of Russian-occupied train tracks seriously disrupted the logistics of invading forces. Ukrainian Railways was also in the process of planning the replacement of its 1,520 mm gauge with the 1,435 mm standard-gauge railway for future integration with the European Union's rail network.

In early February 2022 (just before the Russian invasion began), upon returning from a visit to Poland, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, his deputy Mustafa Nayyem and Ukrzaliznytsia CEO Oleksandr Kamyshin announced that Ukraine and Poland had agreed that a high-speed rail link would be built between Kyiv and Warsaw through Yahodyn railway station, reducing travel times by four hours. Ukrzaliznytsia also decided to remove all restrictions on rail transit to Poland beginning on 10 February 2022. After the Russian invasion caused a lot of damage to Ukrainian railway and airport infrastructure, the Polish government in October 2022 offered to help Ukraine's post-war reconstruction, as well as adding an extra high-speed rail link between Lublin and Lviv through Zamość and Bełżec.

Transition to the Standard gauge
Since the 2010s, and especially since the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, much urge has been given to plans to build new standard-gauge connections between the largest cities and EU countries, and switch over parts of the Ukrainian network from 1,520 mm to standard gauge. Although switching the entire network over quickly would not be realistic, the construction or renewal of standard-gauge border crossings were deemed viable options to be prioritised.

In February 2021, plans were drafted by the Ministry of Infrastructure for building four sections with a total length of 2,000 km, with a top train speed of over 250 km/h. The first and longest of these would be a 896 km-long track between Kyiv and Lviv, onwards to the Ukrainian-Polish border. The plans also included standard-gauge rail between Chernivtsi and Siret, Romania, as well as restoring the European gauge between Chop and Uzhhorod. Restoration of the Mostyska-1 to Rodatychi standard-gauge track is also under discussion.

In June 2023 it was agreed, following the October 2022 European Union decision to extend the EU TEN-T system, for passenger transport, to bring a European Standard gauge line from Poland to Kyiv via Lviv.

Other TEN-T European standard lines planned include:
 * International connections to Lviv from Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania.
 * International connection to Odesa from Moldova.
 * Lviv to Odesa line.
 * Kyiv to Mariupol line.

A long-term plan is to turn Lviv into a European standard rail hub, but that major project would have to be performed in several smaller stages.

In July 2023, the European Commission published the "Strategy for the EU integration of the Ukrainian and Moldovan rail systems". A principal conclusion and recommendation of the study is to develop a new backbone Standard gauge network in Ukraine, to be operated in conjunction with the existing 1520mm network. The new backbone network would focus on higher speed intercity transportation, while the 1520mm system would cater for lower-speed transport (local and regional passenger traffic and heavy bulk). The development of the backbone network would be implemented in a phased manner, from West to East.

In April 2024, Ukraine commenced building the Standard gauge track between Chop and Uzhhorod (22 km). After completion, Uzhhorod will become the first administrative center of Ukraine connected with the EU by the standard gauge.

Rolling stock
Because of the difference in gauges, most of Ukraine's rolling stock cannot move across standard gauge rail into neighbouring countries to its west, namely Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. Although replacing the bogies would make wagons compatible with most Romanian and Bulgarian railways, '[Ukrainian] grain wagons have a width of 3,224 mm, while the maximum allowable one in many European countries is 3,150 mm, and the axle load of [Ukrainian] wagons is up to 23.5 tons with the maximum allowable 18–20 tons in many neighboring countries. Therefore, in Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland, basically only European wagons can be used.' Specialised freight fleets at Kovel railway station compatible with the European network can move across Ukraine's longest standard-gauge track into Poland, but as of 2022 had not been in use for almost 30 years.

New and reopened railroad links
Since 2010s efforts have been undertaken to make several Poland-Ukraine connections fully operational again, including Khyriv - Przemyśl and Khyriv - Sanok. Both have a combined dual gauge 1435/1520mm track.

In 2019, the Košice (Slovakia) to Mukachevo (Ukraine) passenger service was opened.

In August 2022, a previously abandoned link between Basarabeasca (Moldova) and Berezyne (Ukraine) was rebuilt and reopened.

In October 2022 the border crossing from Rakhiv south to Valea Vișeului railway station in Romania (closed in 2011 ) was reopened.

In 2023 at Teresva a fourth rail connection between Ukraine and Romania opened.

The first freight train in 25 years travelled on the Basarabeasca-Berezino line from Moldova in April 2023, the line having been recently renovated by a joint Moldova/Ukrainian team in just over a month. This line reopens an historic connection between Ukraine and Romania and bypasses Transnistria.

In October 2023, the Warsaw – Rava-Ruska connection was extended to Briukhovychi (just northwest of Lviv), and in November 2023 the new connection Chop – Prague was opened, thus adding two more standard-gauge rails from Ukraine to Poland and Czechia, respectively.

Infrastructure
Railways in Ukraine use various gauge types. The broad gauge (1,520 mm), a legacy of Imperial Russian and Soviet times, dominates the landscape, and narrow-gauge railways (750 mm) also exist, but plans are being made to construct, restore or switch to more standard-gauge railways (1,435 mm) for better train connections with the rest of Europe. About half of railways in Ukraine are electrified (some of which have been damaged during the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War and temporarily switched to diesel trains).

The total length of Ukrainian rails of all gauges was 28,000 kilometres at the end of 1997. Around January 2022, the length of railways in Ukraine was 19,790 km in broad-gauge 1520 mm (excluding those located in temporarily occupied territory), about 350 km in standard-gauge 1435 mm, and about 400 km in narrow gauge 750 mm.

Broad gauge (1,520 mm)
As of 2020, the total length of the main broad-gauge (1,520 mm) railroad network was 19,787 km. The total length of electrified broad-gauge lines (with the use of the overhead wire) was 9,319 km. The infrastructure also contains 5,422 railway crossings (level crossing), 4,168 of which employ an automatic signaling system. At the same time 1,497 crossings are staffed 1,468 out of those equipped with automatic signaling system (grade crossing signals).

Standard gauge (1,435 mm)
As of May 2022, Ukraine had many stretches of standard gauge rail, although several had not seen use for decades. The c. 80-kilometre-long railroad from Kovel railway station to Yahodyn railway station near the Ukrainian–Polish border was the longest standard-gauge track in Ukraine at the time; in May 2021, Ukrainian Railways started electrifying and modernising this route. Specialised freight fleets at Kovel station compatible with the European network had not been in use for almost 30 years, however. From Chop to Mukachevo and to the railway station at Nevetlenfolu (Diakovo) in Zakarpattia, large sections of rail track are of European width as well.



Narrow gauges (750 mm)
Various gauge railways operate in Ukraine as common carrier, industrial railway or children's railways.

Links to Belarus

 * 🇧🇾 Belarus: same gauge, 1520mm broad. Closed due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Links to Hungary

 * 🇭🇺 Hungary: Break-of-gauge: /
 * Záhony-Chop railway station

Links to Moldova

 * 🇲🇩 Moldova: same gauge, 1520mm broad.
 * There were two major rail links, both requiring transit through Transnistria, between Bender-Tiraspol-Kuchurgan and between Mateuți-Cobasna-Slobidka. closed due to rail bridge damaged by Ukraine in early 2022.
 * A previously abandoned link between Basarabeasca (Moldova) and Berezyne (Ukraine) that was rebuilt and reopened in August 2022.

Links to Poland

 * 🇵🇱 Poland. As of July 2023, there were seven railway crossings on the Polish-Ukrainian border.
 * Kovel and Yahodyn – Dorohusk and Chełm; one 1435mm track and one 1520mm track.
 * Khyriv through Nyzhankovychi – Malhowice until Przemyśl. Formerly combined dual gauge 1435/1520mm, though the 1435mm gauge tracks were partially removed between 1995 and 2004, although since 2016 efforts have been undertaken to make it fully operational again.
 * Khyriv through Staryava (Старява, Sambir Raion) – Krościenko, Bieszczady County until Sanok. Combined dual gauge 1435/1520mm, closed to all traffic since 9 November 2010, although efforts have been undertaken to make it fully operational again.
 * Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa (LHS), a broad gauge cross-border cargo line from Volodymyr(-Volynskyi) via Ustyluh into Poland at Hrubieszów towards Sławków (near Katowice). As of July 2023, it only transports freight, though in earlier years it also served passengers, while a sidetrack from Volodymyr to Kovel is being electrified.
 * Lviv through Mostyska – Medyka until Przemyśl. 1435mm and 1520mm tracks, widely used for passenger transport, particularly by people travelling between Kyiv/Lviv and Warsaw/Wrocław.
 * Rava Ruska – Hrebenne, Tomaszów Lubelski County. 1435mm track opened on 2 June 1996, closed in June 2005. As of July 2023, freight traffic was impossible because the tracks to the interchange sidings at Rava Ruska had been dismantled.
 * Rava Ruska – Werchrata. A 1520mm gauge freight-only crossing.

Links to Romania

 * 🇷🇴 Romania: Break-of-gauge: / As of July 2023, there were 6 border crossings between the two countries.
 * Rakhiv - Vișeului (closed in 2011, reopened in October 2022 ).
 * Teresva - Câmpulung la Tisa.
 * Vadul-Siret - Vicșani.
 * Nevetlenfolu (Diakovo), Ukraine - Halmeu, Romania: dual gauge crossing, not electrified; currently freight only. Dual gauge line enables standard gauge connections from Halmeu with Hungary and Slovakia through Chop, Ukraine.
 * Reni, Ukraine (Odesa Oblast) - Galați, near the tripoint of Ukraine, Romania and Moldova on the Danube.

Links to Russia

 * 🇷🇺 Russia: same gauge, 1520mm broad. Crimean Bridge opened in 2019 under Russian occupation. Closed due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Links to Slovakia

 * 🇸🇰 Slovakia
 * Košice (Slovakia) to Mukachevo (Ukraine) passenger service opened 2019
 * Chop railway station to Čierna nad Tisou railway station
 * Uzhhorod–Košice broad-gauge track, a broad gauge cross-border cargo line.

Stations
In 2020, there were 1,402 stations, that had 118 various station buildings. There were 2,268 smaller halts. The network is fully interconnected, central-dispatched and consists of 1,648 stations of all sizes spread throughout the country. The largest stations are Nyzhnodniprovsk-Vuzol (in the city of Dnipro) and Darnytsia (in the capital Kyiv) – both freight.


 * Intermediate
 * Sorting
 * Freight
 * Sectional
 * Passenger

Railway stations also have five classes depending on their general performance. Some stations may be named as railway stop, platform number, passing loop (роз'їзд) or simply kilometer post.

Prior to the intensified Ukrainian derussification after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine there were still renaming railway stops whose names indicate the distance to Moscow.

Infrastructure projects

 * Electrification of the Volodymyr – Kovel track.

Beskydy Tunnel
The Beskydy Tunnel was inaugurated in May 2018, serving as the most important rail link between Ukraine and the pan-European railway network, handling 60% of Ukraine-EU freight traffic. The project was supported by the European Union, the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The new tunnel more than doubles the output on the line, to 100 trains from the previous 45, and allows a speed increase from 40 km/h to 70 km/h.

Kyiv – Vasylkiv electrification project
In 2021 the electrification of the track section Vasylkiv 1 – Vasylkiv 2 is planned, which will enable the launch of electric suburban rail between Kyiv and Vasylkiv. The project involves the reconstruction of the Boyarka electrical substation, track works and a new passenger platform.

Zhytomyr – Zviahel line upgrade
In 2021, the line between Zhytomyr and Zviahel is planned to be modernized and electrified.

Kyiv – Cherkasy electrification
The project envisages the electrification of the 30 km section between Taras Shevchenko (Smila) and Cherkasy stations, which is the only non-electrified section between Cherkasy and Kyiv. The project will enable the launch of INTERCITY+ services between Kyiv and Cherkasy, reducing travel time from 3 hours 41 minutes to 2 hours and 45 minutes. Ukrainian Railways plans to carry out service using Skoda City Elephant EJ675 double decker electric multiple units.

Operators

 * Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia), the state-owned joint-stock company that has a de facto monopoly on rail transport operations in Ukraine. It was recognised in 2011 that there is a need for competition in rail services.

Locomotives

 * Luhanskteplovoz, former producer of locomotives (in 2007-2016 belonged to Russian Transmashholding)
 * Malyshev Factory, former producer of locomotives as Kharkiv Steam-locomotive Factory
 * Dnipro Electrical Locomotive Works, producer of electrical locomotives
 * Ukrzaliznychpostach
 * Vinnytsiatransprylad
 * Ukrainian state center of railroad refrigerated transportation
 * Ukrainian state center in exploitation of specialized rolling stock "Ukrspecrailcar"

Railcars

 * Kryukiv Railcar Works, primary producer of small locomotives and railcars
 * Stakhanov Railway Car Building Works, railcar production
 * DniproVahonMash (Dnieper Railcar Works), railcar production

Supporting

 * Kryvyi Rih Diesel Engines, diesel engines
 * LuhCentroKuz, rail axles

Trams

 * Elektron, producer of tramways
 * Yuzhmash (along with Tatra Yuga), producer of tramways

Repair factories

 * Darnytsia Railcar Repair
 * Dnipro Railcar Repair
 * Dnipro Diesel Locomotive Repair
 * Haivoron Diesel Locomotive Repair
 * Hnivan factory of special reinforced concrete
 * Izyum Diesel Locomotive Repair
 * Ivano-Frankivsk Locomotive Repair
 * Lviv Locomotive Repair
 * Kharkiv Railcar Repair
 * Konotop Railcar Repair
 * Korosten factory of reinforced concrete railroad ties
 * Kremenchuk factory of reinforced concrete railroad ties
 * Kyiv Electric Railcar Repair
 * Poltava Diesel Locomotive Repair
 * Popasna railcar maintenance shop
 * Starokostyantyniv factory of reinforced concrete railroad ties
 * Stryi railcar maintenance shop
 * Zaporizhia Electric Locomotive Repair
 * Zhmerynka Railcar Repair

Rail stock research

 * Ukrainian Research Institute of Railcar Construction, Kremenchuk

Others

 * Central station of communication
 * Donbasshlyakhpostach
 * Main information-calculation center
 * Ukrainian state accounting center of international transportations
 * State company "Ukrainian center of track works mechanization"
 * Lisky
 * Ukrainian center of passenger service (UTsOP)
 * Ukrtransfarmatsia
 * E-kvytok (translate Electronic ticket)

Other rail transport in Ukraine
Rail transport used for mass transit is usually administered by local government, typically city authorities; this includes trams, subway (metro), funicular and others. There are rapid transit systems in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro as well as tram systems among which the Kryvyi Rih Metrotram contains underground sections.

In mountainous regions various narrow gauge railways are owned and operated privately, sometimes in the form of heritage railways.