JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” (UZ) transported 8.14 million passengers over the three summer months, compared to 8.07 million during the same period last year and 7.94 million in the summer of 2024, according to a company announcement on its Telegram channel on Thursday.
According to UZ, 628,400 children and 90,000 military personnel visiting their families traveled by train between June and August this year. A total of 22,000 people with disabilities, including veterans, traveled in accessible railcars. A total of 357,000 passengers purchased tickets through the auto-renewal system.
“This result once again demonstrates a more efficient use of the rolling stock: additional ‘rotational’ trains and minimal downtime for cars, especially in frontline regions,” Ukrzaliznytsia noted.
It is noted that over the summer, “UZ” put 20 new railcars into service, while losing seven during this period.
According to Ukrzaliznytsia, there were four and a half passenger requests per seat in June–August. The top five most popular routes based on the number of ticket searches in the company’s app were Lviv–Kyiv, Przemyśl–Kyiv, Kyiv–Kharkiv, Kholm–Kyiv, and Kyiv–Dnipro.
Among other things, passengers exchanged more than 300 million “hugs” for discounts in the “Rail Friends” loyalty program during the summer and also earned about 500,000 rewards.
For its part, the Ministry of Recovery, Transport, and Infrastructure reported that the railway is entering the fall season with a schedule that has been updated and adapted to the current needs of Ukrainians, while also taking the security situation into account.
“This year’s summer season has been yet another challenge for the Ukrainian railway. Russia is attempting to disrupt domestic logistics. At the same time, railway workers continue to optimize operations in accordance with the security situation, quickly adjust logistics, and make the most of the available rolling stock,” the ministry emphasized.
As reported, citing data from “Ukrzaliznytsia,” since the start of the war, the enemy has carried out 6,100 attacks on its infrastructure, more than 1,500 of which occurred between January 1 and August 20, 2026.
PASSENGER TRAFFIC, railcar, RAILROAD, TRANSPORTATION, UKRZALIZNYTSIA
Railway grain shipments to the ports of Greater Odesa during the first five days of August fell by 84.3% compared to the same period in July—to 40.8 thousand metric tons, according to the brokerage firm Spike Brokers.
According to its data, the total volume of agricultural exports from Ukraine for August 1–6 amounted to 312,900 metric tons, compared to 784,500 metric tons for the same period in July, a decrease of 60.1%. At the same time, export revenue decreased by 38.4%—to $201.5 million from $326.9 million.
The sharpest decline was seen in grains: wheat exports for the first six days of August totaled 93.2 thousand metric tons, compared to 294.9 thousand metric tons in early July, while corn exports totaled 33.5 thousand metric tons, compared to 293.7 thousand metric tons, respectively.
At the same time, a seasonal flow of rapeseed totaling 27,900 metric tons appeared in the structure of August exports, while shipments of soybean meal rose to 25,700 metric tons from 18,600 metric tons during the corresponding period in July. Sunflower oil exports fell to 30.7 thousand metric tons from 52.1 thousand metric tons.
During the first five days of August, a total of 182 thousand metric tons of grain and milled products were transported by rail, which is 44.1% less than during the same period in July.
“Data from Ukrainian Railways (UZ) for the first five days of the month show a sharp decline in rail grain shipments to seaports, while land-based rail crossings and road exports are operating at a relatively higher level,” the report states.
As for overland logistics channels, from August 1–6, 59,600 metric tons of agricultural products were exported through road border crossings, compared to 53,600 metric tons during the same period in July (an increase of 11.3%).
According to Spike Brokers, the average daily throughput of grain and meal shipments through border crossings during the first five days of August was 142 railcars, compared to 139 railcars in July.
Volumes increased the most on the Romanian route—to 31.2 railcars per day, or 29.3 railcars more than in July. Poland increased its shipments to 27.4 railcars per day (+13.8). In contrast, Hungary reduced this figure to 23 railcars per day (-15.9), and Slovakia to 14.2 railcars per day (-2.7). The backlog of grain railcars heading toward the border rose from 369 to 521 railcars, or by 41.2%.
“In contrast to the slower overall pace of agricultural exports, the road transport channel began August with greater activity than in July. However, its absolute capacity remains insufficient to compensate for the reduction in large-tonnage grain flows through seaports,” the report states.
An increase in activity was also recorded on the Danube route: the number of grain cars in transit rose to 1,296 (+155), and the average daily unloading rate increased to 157 cars (+106).
More than EUR20 million is expected to be raised for JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” during the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2026) as part of the business component, which will involve the signing of certain documents, Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery and Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Kuleba said in an interview with the “Interfax-Ukraine” news agency.
According to him, the ministry, as part of its resilience efforts, will present situation centers that have been deployed throughout the country. These are centers where dispatchers coordinate air raid alerts or any other threats online 24/7, making decisions regarding the suspension of trains, the evacuation of people, or changes to freight routes.
“This is very serious work that helps us minimize damage and save the lives of passengers and employees, despite constant attacks,” Kuleba emphasized.
The Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery also noted that Ukrzaliznytsia and the port sector are bearing the brunt of the impact amid constant enemy shelling.
“The Russians are doing this entirely deliberately, knowing that in this way they can destroy our export potential so that we cannot ship out what we produce,” Kuleba stressed.
Earlier reports indicated that since the beginning of this year alone, the enemy has launched more than 1,500 attack drones at Ukrainian ports.
In addition, since the start of the full-scale invasion, 966 port infrastructure facilities and more than 200 civilian vessels have been damaged or destroyed.
Furthermore, 257 civilians have been injured or killed as a result of attacks on Ukrainian ports.
“Ukrzaliznytsia,” for its part, noted that during the first quarter of 2026, the enemy carried out 541 strikes on railway infrastructure and rolling stock.
The Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2026) will take place on June 25–26 in Gdańsk, Poland. The Ukrainian delegation will be led by Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
The rise in railway tariffs for freight transportation may increase the load on road transport and road infrastructure, as well as increase prices for final products in the energy and construction sectors.
This opinion was expressed by representatives of core business segments at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.
“Ukrzaliznytsia, as a monopoly carrier, is once again simply raising tariffs. What will this mean for the cement industry: firstly, the prices for the transportation of coal will rise, and secondly, the prices for the transportation of raw materials and additives to cement will rise. Thirdly, prices will rise directly for the final product for the consumer,” Executive Director of the Association of Cement Producers of Ukraine (Ukrcement) Liudmyla Kripka said.
According to preliminary estimates of the association, such an increase in tariffs will affect both the cost of cement and the final product for the consumer by about 5-8%, which, in turn, will increase the cost of construction projects.
At the same time, Kripka said that Ukrzaliznytsia may not receive the expected income from the increase in tariffs due to the transfer of enterprise logistics to the segment of road transportation.
“As a result, Ukrzaliznytsia will not receive income, but the load on road transport will increase,” she said.
Director General of the Federation of Transport Employers of Ukraine Volodymyr Husak agreed with this forecast. According to him, Ukrzaliznytsia will not be able to implement the plan to receive about UAH 2 billion by the end of this year from the increase in freight rates.
“This money will not be available, as we will see an accelerated withdrawal of Ukrzaliznytsia’s clients primarily to highways. This trend has been observed for several years… Due to the reorientation of goods to highways, there will be an additional load. Roads will collapse faster. There will be no effect from the implementation of the Big Construction program of the President of Ukraine,” he said.
In addition, Husak said that due to the rise in the cost of transportation of building materials – crushed stone, cement – the volume of the Big Construction program will also decrease.
At the same time, maintaining low prices in the passenger segment and an increase in the cost of cargo transportation will ultimately lead to an increase in tariffs in the energy sector, Deputy Chairman of the Federation of Employers of the Fuel and Energy Complex of Ukraine Serhiy Chekh said.
“What will the implementation of this order [of the Ministry of Infrastructure] mean for us, power engineers? This is extra UAH 40-50 per tonne of transported coal and about 3% growth in the cost of electricity at the exit from the thermal power station,” he said.
Experts emphasize that for the effective development of the rail transport market, it is necessary to ensure equal competitive conditions, introduce projects for the use of private locomotives, and update legislation in this area. In addition, it is necessary to update the management and supervisory board of Ukrzaliznytsia for effective governance, to carry out its reform in accordance with the government’s plans.
As reported, earlier in July, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine published a draft order on a two-stage increase in tariffs for cargo transportation of a group of goods of 1 and 2 tariff classes from September 2021 by 8%, and from January 2022 – by 20.4% and 6.5%.
