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
Kyiv Electric Railcar Repair Plant JSC (KEVRZ), a subsidiary of Ukrzaliznytsia, reported a loss of 4.48 million UAH for January–June 2026, which is 4.2 times less than the loss recorded in the first half of 2025.
According to the company’s interim financial report published in the disclosure system of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), its net revenue decreased by 8.8% to 631.73 million UAH.
The plant reduced its gross profit by 27.6% to 33.3 million UAH, generating 7.4 million UAH in operating profit compared to 24.6 million UAH last year.
The company notes that during the reporting period, it sold 19 refurbished electric locomotive sections for 546 million UAH, 61 wheel sets for 24.4 million UAH, and 230 traction motors and auxiliary units for 37.8 million UAH.
As previously reported, the plant ended the first quarter of this year with a loss of 20.2 million UAH, compared to a net profit of 0.48 million UAH for the same period in 2025, despite a 14.6% increase in net revenue to 250.5 million UAH.
KEVRZ was founded in 1868. It specializes in the major overhaul of electric trains for Ukrainian railways, the repair of components and assemblies, electric machines, electric motors, and wheel sets, as well as the manufacture of spare parts.
The plant ended 2025 with a net profit of 70.2 million UAH—4.4 times more than the previous year—and a 34.2% increase in net revenue to 1.703 billion UAH. It repaired 51 electric sections, 223 wheel sets, 538 traction motors, and auxiliary machines.
From July 13 to 19, JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” (UZ) transported 647,100 passengers, and the most popular train last week was the Kyiv–Przemyśl route, which carried 13,800 people, according to a company announcement on its Telegram channel.
According to the published data, the average number of passengers per car during the reporting period was 378.
Meanwhile, the number of passengers in children’s groups that week totaled 21,600.
“The most popular destination is the Carpathians. The vast majority of children traveled to Tatariv, Vorokhta, and Yasinya. Ensuring seats for organized groups of children is a priority, so when tickets are issued for these trips, they are the first to receive them,” Ukrzaliznytsia emphasized.
It is noted that the number of military personnel transported via the special reserve from July 13 to 19 was 3,600.
According to data provided by Ukrzaliznytsia, from July 13 to 19, the highest demand was observed on the Kyiv–Lviv route, where 173,200 requests were recorded and 32,700 passengers were transported.
On the Kyiv–Odesa route, the figures were 107,900 and 23,500 passengers, respectively; on the Kyiv–Przemyśl route, 76,600 and 14,700; on the Kyiv–Kharkiv route, 66,900, with 20,200 passengers transported; and on the Kyiv–Dnipro route—57,100 and 15,600, respectively
Ukrzaliznytsia clarified that there were five passengers vying for each seat on the Kyiv–Lviv, Kyiv–Odesa, and Kyiv–Przemyśl routes; four on the Kyiv–Dnipro route; and three on the Kyiv–Kharkiv route.
Among other things, the company evacuated 243 people from the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions that week and operated trains for representatives of 15 diplomatic delegations.
In early June, Ukrzaliznytsia told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency that this year’s summer passenger travel season would be more challenging than last year’s due to rising demand and a reduction in the number of railcars.
JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia” (“UZ”) and Spain’s national railway operator Renfe have agreed on a strategic partnership aimed at developing freight and passenger transportation, according to a company statement released on Friday.
“Ukrzaliznytsia and Renfe—Spain’s national railway operator, with over 80 years of experience in passenger transport and more than 30 years of operating high-speed trains—have agreed on a strategic partnership,” UZ wrote on its Telegram channel.
The agreement is expected to cover the implementation of technologies for automatic gauge change, the establishment of interconnection points between different systems, and the planning of the development of the European gauge.
Among other things, the companies will explore opportunities to develop and organize passenger routes on the 1,435 mm gauge in Ukraine, both on existing lines and on sections that are under construction or planned for construction.
Furthermore, the memorandum provides for cooperation in the field of freight transport and intermodal logistics between Ukraine and the countries of the European Union.
“Ukrzaliznytsia, for its part, will share its unique experience in ensuring the continuity of transportation, the rapid restoration of infrastructure, and the resilience of the railway system amid a full-scale war,” the statement reads.
As part of this collaboration, technical teams will exchange expertise in modern traffic control and safety systems, as well as in increasing capacity and improving service quality for passengers and shippers.
The parties will also work on further developing barrier-free infrastructure and rolling stock for people with disabilities and other mobility-impaired groups.
Ukrzaliznytsia clarified that the cooperation is formalized by a memorandum with Renfe’s subsidiary, Renfe Proyectos Internacionales Sociedad Mercantil Estatal (RPI).
Ukrzaliznytsia’s international passenger traffic has increased 50–60-fold since the start of Russian aggression and the closure of Ukrainian airspace, and is generating significant profits, according to Ukrzaliznytsia CEO Oleksandr Pertsovskyi.
“This is a profitable segment; pricing is fairly flexible there and is determined by bilateral agreements. We expect to generate up to 5 billion hryvnias in revenue and somewhere around 2 billion hryvnias in profit in this segment,” he said on the “What’s Up with the Economy” podcast produced by the Center for Economic Strategy (CES).
At the same time, Pertsovskyi noted that this result was achieved by repairing a “huge number” of RIC railcars and reaching agreements with all the railways of neighboring countries.
“From an economic standpoint, everything is fine here; the key task is to scale up these operations. We really wanted to launch a train to Bulgaria—another popular route—but politics got in the way because governments changed in Romania and in Bulgaria itself, so there are some complications,” added the chairman of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia.
According to him, they have not yet managed to convince Poland to allow wider Ukrainian railcars to run on European-gauge tracks, even though a pilot run demonstrated that this is possible and such railcars regularly run on European-gauge tracks toward Budapest.
Among the latest successful projects, he cited the transition of the train to Chisinau to a daily schedule instead of every other day, as well as the synchronization of service with Germany.
Regarding domestic long-distance trains, Pertsovskyi emphasized that the government’s introduction this year of an experimental Public Service Obligation (PSO) compensation model—which covers part of the company’s costs for such services—allowed this segment to break even for the first time.
However, the head of Ukrzaliznytsia clarified that there is still a need for capital expenditures to purchase new passenger cars, since renewing the fleet of 1,600 cars with an average cost of $1.5 million would require over $2 billion; therefore, it is positive that the state budget has allocated funds for the purchase of such cars starting in 2021.
As for the “Intercity” trains, according to Pertsovskyi, one was lost due to an enemy attack, and another due to a traffic accident.
“We are currently working on a more systematic, long-term solution for their repair. It’s not cheap, and since the trains aren’t new, manufacturers aren’t really prepared for this, but at the same time, we’re turning them into ‘transformers’: using fewer cars but getting them back into service,” said the chairman of the board.
Finally, he emphasized, the most unprofitable and problematic segment of passenger transportation remains—commuter rail.
“There is no solution here yet, because it’s stuck between the state budget and local budgets, but there is a willingness and unity within the government—and on our part—to pass a law this year on state procurement, the so-called public PSO, including for commuter (transportation). We would greatly appreciate your support and advocacy; this will make it possible to balance this segment as well, and then we will be in a stable economic situation,” Pertsovskyi concluded.
In 2025, Ukrzaliznytsia reduced its revenue from sales to external customers by 12.4% compared to 2024—to 91.24 billion—and increased its operating loss by 5.5 times—to 17.03 billion hryvnias.
Revenue from intercity passenger transportation on domestic and international routes increased by 11.8%—to 11.94 billion hryvnias—while the loss from these services rose by 9.1%, to 9.62 billion hryvnias.
Suburban transportation generated only 0.51 billion UAH in revenue and 9.996 billion UAH in losses for the company, which is 2.8% less and 7% more, respectively, than in 2024.
Finally, freight transportation declined by 17.1% to 67.87 billion UAH, while profit from this segment fell 3.5-fold to 5.82 billion UAH.
“Ukrzaliznytsia” continues to modernize its rolling stock; new passenger cars manufactured in Ukraine have already been added to the train set for Train No. 29/30 Kyiv–Uzhhorod, Ukrzaliznytsia announced on Saturday.
These cars will immediately begin service today on Train No. 4/3 from Uzhhorod to Dnipro, and taking into account the cars received a month earlier, there are now six new cars operating on the Kyiv–Uzhhorod–Dnipro route, according to a Telegram post.
The cars are equipped with high-capacity rechargeable batteries, which allow the air conditioners to operate even during prolonged stops in hot weather. The compartments also feature power outlets, tables for passengers in the upper berths, buttons to call the conductor, and modern lighting. The restrooms are equipped with changing tables and child seats.
As noted, Ukrzaliznytsia has received a total of 18 new passenger cars since the beginning of the year.
