Ukrainian Railways, Austrian Federal Railways plan to launch Vienna-Uzhgorod train

MOSCOW. April 3 (Interfax) - Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) and Austrian Federal Railways are considering launching a coach-class train service to the city of Uzhgorod, Ukrainian media said, citing the Ukrainian Railways press service.

"Railway specialists from both sides are discussing the launch of a train with Austrian coach-class cars to Uzhgorod via Chop," it said.

Ukrainian Railways CEO Alexander Pertsovsky and Austrian Federal Railways head Andreas Mattha discussed the possibility of launching a new more comfortable transfer train service between Kiev and Vienna at their meeting in the Ukrainian capital, the press service said.

They agreed to jointly provide a training program for train crews and technical staff. Ukrainian Railways staff will receive passenger and technical service training in Vienna, it said.

Currently, the options for getting from Kiev to Vienna include a train with a transfer in Chop, as well as a non-transfer Kiev-Vienna train with stops in Lvov, Strye, Mukachevo, and Chop. Passengers on Transcarpathia Kiev-Budapest trains can also board a Vienna-bound train in Budapest. The travel time from Budapest to Vienna is two and a half hours.

Kiev hosted a Ukrainian-Austrian business forum this week. According to Ukraine's Ministry of Communities and Territories Development, the prospect of using a single ticket on trains of Ukrainian Railways and Austrian Federal Railways was discussed at it. This option is now under consideration.