When will Ukraine move to the European track?
The construction of a railway line is one of the most pressing issues in Ukraine today. Despite the fact that the railroad connection is quite developed and extensive, the number of international flights is still quite limited. Freight trains are stuck in traffic jams for weeks at the border crossings of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova. And to get to Warsaw by train, you need to change trains in Przemyśl, which increases the total travel time by several hours.
All these problems and delays are caused by the difference in the size of the tracks laid in Ukraine and the European Union. The difference in parameters is 8.5 cm. As a result, launching new trains in the EU is currently quite difficult and sometimes impossible.
How will the European integration of Ukraine’s railway transport take place?
Today, the railroad tracks of Ukraine, like those of other post-Soviet countries, are 1520 mm wide. To connect the Ukrainian railroad with the European Union, it will be necessary to lay 1435 mm wide tracks. This is the distance between the inner edges of the rails in Europe and many other countries.
The phased transition to the European standard was recently announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. The government plans to first connect major hubs and strategic cities in the regions bordering the EU, and then gradually integrate the entire infrastructure. The difficulty lies in the fact that it is necessary not only to resurface the tracks but also to replace the entire rolling stock, which involves significant capital investment.
Ukrzaliznytsia has already managed to reconstruct important border sections, bringing them up to European standards. But this ambitious reform may take billions of euros and decades to fully implement. The cost of reconstructing just one railroad line is approximately 2-3 billion euros. The estimated cost of the full transition is about 250 billion.
Some experts say that this process will be completed in the very distant future. But developing further cross-border corridors with the European railroad is much more realistic. Alternatively, Ukrzaliznytsia is considering creating transport hubs on the border of European and broad gauge railways, where terminals for moving cargo from car to car can be built.
How will the emergence of European railways affect the Ukrainian economy?
First, passenger traffic will increase. Ukrainians will be able to comfortably travel abroad in international trains: on business or to see the world. The difficult security situation does not stand in the way of foreign tourists who want to see the beauty of our nature and feel the historical atmosphere of our cities.
And secondly, our country will stop losing opportunities for exporting and importing goods. The sea routes are blocked because the enemy fleet has blocked the exit of Ukrainian ships. Therefore, the railroad will be a great alternative for exporting and importing goods. In the meantime, the broken transportation chains are losing a lot of money that could have stimulated the economy in this extremely difficult time. If the railroad tracks can be adapted, businesses will quickly rebuild their logistics and establish commercial ties in the European Union.
