Ukrainian Railways starts building Euro-gauge track between Chop-Uzhgorod

MOSCOW. April 12 (Interfax) - Ukrainian Railways has started building a European-gauge track between Chop and Uzhgorod, Ukrainian media said, citing the Restoration Ministry's press service and Ukrainian Railways.

"Ukrainian Railways has stated building a European-gauge track between Chop and Uzhgorod. [...] The first piece in the sleeper system of the new Euro-gauge track was laid on April 11 in the presence of Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal and Ukrainian Railways CEO Yevgeny Lyashchenko," media quoted the Ukrainian Railways website.

The project envisages construction of a 22-kilometer European-gauge track, in addition to the renovation of artificial structures, facilities and engineering networks (one pedestrian bridge, three small bridges and one big bridge) and the provision of a two-way lock-and-block system and microprocessor-based dispatch centralization devices, it said.

This will allow direct passenger traffic from Uzhgorod to Europe by the Euro-gauge track and transfers from trains traveling from every region of Ukraine to Europe, the Restoration Ministry said.

"The project will not only improve the comfort of passenger traffic and redistribute the passenger flow, but will also offer new logistics opportunities for freight transportation and will relieve congestion at checkpoints. Uzhgorod will be the first regional center connected to Europe by a Euro-gauge track," the statement quoted Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal as saying.

Deputy Prime Minister, Restoration Minister Alexander Kubrakov said, for his part, that the project is important for Ukraine's connection by Euro-gauge lines.

"The EU Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) will support the project with a co-funding grant. It was thanks to successful participation in a contest of CEF projects in 2022 that Ukrainian Railways got an opportunity to launch the project. We will make a feasibility study at some point regarding possible extension of the Euro-gauge track from Uzhgorod to Lvov, thus connecting it to two European Transport Corridors TEN-T - the Rhine-Danube and the Mediterranean," Kubrakov said.

The project's main stage will begin in May this year, and the work will be finalized within 14 months. The project's total cost is 1.3 billion hryvni.