Ukraine opened its first railway line with European track width standard. The event symbolizes the country’s future integration with the European Union. This historic event took place on September 5, 2025.
Ukraine first railway built to the European Union’s standard track width is a 22-kilometer link between Uzhhorod and Chop (near the border to Slovakia). It tightens the country’s transport ties to the EU even as Russia’s initiated war on Ukraine goes on.
The line uses the EU’s 1,435-millimeter gauge rather than Ukraine’s traditional 1,520-millimeter broad gauge. The project was funded by a €28.6 million package—half from a European Investment Bank loan backed by the EU’s €50 billion Ukraine Facility and half from an EU Connecting Europe Facility grant. It includes upgraded signaling, communications, and centralized control systems to boost capacity and safety.
By eliminating a break of gauge at the Slovak and Hungarian borders, the route cuts travel times. It streamlines passengers’ movement to cities such as Košice, Budapest, and Vienna. Officials say it will accelerate trade, support reconstruction, and make rail more competitive with road transport. “This is a historic step toward EU integration,” said European Investment Bank Vice-President Teresa Czerwińska.
Working now on expansion inside Ukraine
EU Ambassador Katarína Mathernová called the line “a very significant step toward fully integrating Ukraine’s railways with the European network, enabling direct connections with neighboring member states”.
The new track is the first phase of a larger plan to extend European-gauge rails deeper into Ukraine—to Chernivtsi, Lviv, Kovel, and eventually Kyiv—over the next several years.
Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, head of Ukrainian Railways, noted the project was completed ahead of schedule despite the war. “Uzhhorod is now the first regional center with a direct European-gauge connection to EU capitals,” he said. “We’ll electrify this section by 2026 and push the line toward Lviv within three years.”
The project marks a tangible step toward the country’s future inside the European family—and sets the stage for a broader continental connection. Rail remains for now the most reliable way to reach Ukraine from the rest of the European Union.
