Ukraine | Inaugurated its First Railway Line with European Track Width Standard

On 5th September 2025, Ukraine inaugurated its first railway line with European track width standard, making a significant step in integrating the transport network and the country with the European Union.

The project was funded by a €28.6 million package, half from an European Investment Bank (EIB) loan backed by the EU’s €50 billion Ukraine Facility and half from an EU connecting Europe Facility grant. 

The 22 kilometres line uses the EU’s 1.435 - millimetre gauge rather than Ukraine’s traditional 1.520 - millimetre broad gauge and the development includes upgraded signalling, communications, and centralized control systems to boost capacity and safety.

The line connects the city of Uzhhorod, a centre on the Uzh River in Western Ukraine, on the border with Slovakia and near the frontier with Hungary to Chop, a city located in Zakarpattia Oblast separated from the Hungarian town of Záhory by the Tisza River and near the Slovak frontier.

The project is one of the tangible results of the Ukraine Facility and by eliminating a break of gauge at the Slovak and Hungarian borders, the route cuts travel times, streamlining movement to relevant cities like Košice in eastern Slovakia, and important European capitals in Central Europe such as Budapest and Vienna.

The new track is also the first phase of a larger plan to extend European - gauge rails deeper into Ukraine to Chernivtsi, Lviv, Kovel, and eventually the capital of the country, Kyiv, over the next several years. 

Officials stated that this development will accelerate trade, support reconstruction, and make rail more competitive with road transport.

European Investment Bank - Vice President Teresa Czerwńiska expressed her enthusiasm saying that this is a historic step for the country towards EU integration.  

EU Ambassador Katerina Mathernová called the line “a very significant step toward fully integrating Ukraine’s railways with the European network, enabling direct connections with neighbouring member states”.

Head of Ukrainian Railways, Oleksandr Pertsovkyi, noted that the project was completed ahead of schedule despite the war, and he stated that Uzhhorod is now the first centre with a direct European - gauge connection to the European Union capitals. This section will be electrified by 2026 and push the line toward Lviv within three years.

Rail remains for now the most reliable way to reach Ukraine from the rest of the European Union and the project marks an important step toward the country’s future inside the European family-and sets the stage for a broader continental connection. 

Link 
https://www.travelmole.com/news/ukraine-europe-rail-network/