Ukraine will start building the much-expected 1,435 mm gauge railway line connecting to Poland and the TEN-T network this year. The railway will run from Ukraine’s western city, Lviv, to the Polish border. Originally, Ukraine wanted to start building the line in 2020.

The construction of the railway will start this year, according to Ukraine’s minister for infrastructure, Oleksandr Kubrakov. ‘It is the construction of the first large section of the European gauge railway, Mostyska-Sknyliv. We will connect our railway with the European network. It is the first project, we will build it already this year together with European partners and donors,’ said the minister at the ‘Ukraine. 2024’ forum.

Ukraine’s railway network consists of 1,520 mm gauge lines, as is the case in all countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union. In order to improve infrastructure connectivity to the rest of Europe and reduce waiting times at border crossings, Ukraine aims to establish a connection to Poland on the standard European 1,435 mm gauge. Likewise, the Baltic states, Spain and Portugal, are working on 1,435 mm gauge rail infrastructure to connect up to the rest of Europe within the framework of TEN-T.

Delayed

Originally, Ukraine wanted to start the construction of the European gauge railway from Lviv to Poland in 2020. It also included the 21 million dollar project in a list of priority investment projects. The railway was supposed to be completed by late 2023, but now Ukraine says construction will start this year.

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