Ukrzaliznytsia is organizing the first spring retro tour along Europe’s longest narrow-gauge railway—the Haivoron Railway—which will take place on March 21, according to the press service.
Ukrzaliznytsia invites outdoor enthusiasts and railway fans to welcome spring aboard the “Haivoron Express,” which will be pulled by Ukraine’s oldest operating steam locomotive, built in 1938.
The tour program includes a ride on a retro train, picturesque views of the Podillia region, traditional Ukrainian cuisine, and a cultural and artistic program. Charity fairs in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, featuring local delicacies and handmade goods, are also planned. In total, three tourist routes are planned as part of the retro tour, including narrow-gauge trips from “Haivoron to Khashchuvate” and “Haivoron to Peredbuzhzhia,” as well as a standard-gauge trip to Henrikhivka.
For passengers’ convenience, direct trailer cars have been designated for the “Kyiv–Haivoron,” “Lviv–Haivoron,” and “Odesa–Haivoron” routes.
Tickets are already available via the “Ukrzaliznytsia” mobile app, on the official website, and at station ticket offices. The average one-way fare is approximately 145 UAH for adults and 110 UAH for children under 14
On March 3, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved a resolution to allocate UAH 16 billion to JSC Ukrzaliznytsia to launch a mechanism for state-ordered passenger rail transport in 2026, according to the Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine.
“The mechanism provides for compensation to Ukrzaliznytsia for the difference between the actual cost of passenger transportation and the income from ticket sales at current, socially accessible tariffs,” the Ministry of Development said in a Telegram post.
According to the information, funding will be provided on a quarterly basis through advance payments, and it is also planned to cover the costs of passenger transportation that were actually incurred in January-February 2026.
“The pilot project is an important step towards the introduction of the European PSO model in Ukraine – state procurement of socially important transport services – and the creation of a transparent and predictable system for financing passenger rail transport,” the Ministry of Development emphasized.
It recalled that the decision to launch this mechanism and the instruction to allocate funds for this from the reserve budget was approved by Cabinet Resolution No. 232 of February 18 this year. According to this document, advance payments to the carrier in the first quarter of this year will be made by March 6, and in the second, third, and fourth quarters – by March 25, June 25, and September 25, respectively.
For this year, the volume of state orders is set at 41.76 million train-kilometers in domestic traffic, with a planned cost of UAH 12.92 billion, while the planned revenue is projected at UAH 7.37 billion. In addition, planned investment costs of UAH 10.44 billion are included, which together forms a total of UAH 16 billion.
According to the results of Ukrzaliznytsia’s activities in 2024, the loss in the passenger transportation segment increased by UAH 2.4 billion, or 15.4%, to UAH 18.1 billion, which was covered by the profit from the freight transportation segment, which amounted to UAH 20.4 billion.
As reported by Serhiy Leshchenko, deputy chairman of the supervisory board of Ukrzaliznytsia, due to the loss of 49% of freight transportation in 2021-2025, the company can no longer subsidize unprofitable passenger transportation at their expense, proposes to increase freight tariffs by 41.5% in 2026 in two stages, and requests budget support.
In January-September 2025, Ukrzaliznytsia reduced its income from ordinary activities by 15.4% compared to the same period in 2024, to UAH 66.03 billion, and received a net loss of UAH 7.32 billion, compared to a net profit of UAH 1.66 billion in January-September 2024.
Revenue from passenger transportation increased by 11% to UAH 9.5 billion, but revenue from freight and postal transportation decreased by 19% to UAH 50.1 billion, and revenue from other services decreased by 14.7% to UAH 6.36 billion.
Investment expenses for the first three quarters of 2025 increased to UAH 11.51 billion from UAH 9.46 billion in the same period last year.
Russian troops carried out about 1,200 combined strikes on Ukraine’s railway infrastructure in 2025, which is one of the three key problems of the season for agricultural exports, said Valery Tkachov, deputy director of the commercial department of Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ).
“The most painful thing for us is that our employees are dying under enemy fire. More than 1,000 railway workers have already been killed during the full-scale war. This is the most difficult challenge, which cannot be measured only by technical indicators,” he said at the Forbes Agro conference in Kyiv on Thursday.
Tkachov named security as the first systemic problem. Last year alone, the enemy carried out 1,200 attacks on railway energy facilities, rolling stock, and control centers in an attempt to completely stop the movement of export cargo.
Tkachov named the second critical problem as restrictions on the external power supply to the network due to strikes on the energy sector, which directly reduces the throughput capacity of key trunk lines. In particular, after the shelling of the Kolosivsky passage in the south and the Kamyanets-Podilsky junction in the west, Ukrzaliznytsia was forced to switch to the use of diesel locomotives on a massive scale.
This leads to a significant slowdown in train traffic, restrictions on train weight, and an increase in transportation costs due to the high cost of diesel fuel compared to electricity. The third set of problems in the work of Ukrzaliznytsia, according to Tkachov, covers economic and political barriers.
This particularly concerns restrictions on western land crossings from neighboring countries and low demand for Danube ports. Despite the availability of alternative routes through Reni and Izmail, agribusiness still prefers the ports of Greater Odessa, which creates an uneven load on the infrastructure.
The deputy director of the UZ department assured that the railway network remains stable, but its efficiency is still critically dependent on the stability of the power system and the security situation on the southern approaches to sea terminals.
The Transport Logistics Center (TLC) branch of Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) will hold regular auctions on February 20 in the Prozorro.Prozori system for the distribution of grain cars at the end of February – beginning of March 2026, the company’s press service reported.
According to the report, 300 grain cars will be put up for auction. The lots are formed as follows: 20 lots of 5 cars, 10 lots of 10 cars, and two large lots of 50 cars, which can be used for both route and carload shipments.
The auction will be held in the format of an English auction (price increase – IF-U). The initial rate for the use of a car is UAH 2,000/day (excluding VAT).
The period for providing cars for loading is from February 25 to March 5, 2026. The unloading area is not limited, but loading from stations where conventional prohibitions are in force is prohibited.
Ukrzaliznytsia emphasized that from the third decade of February, priority in providing cars will be given to applications purchased through Prozorro.Sales. Regular applications will be satisfied on a residual basis.
As reported, Ukrzaliznytsia has intensified auction sales due to increased demand for freight transportation in the agricultural sector.
Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) has sent its first container train along the Lviv–Fenishlitke (Hungary) route, according to the company’s press service.
According to the report, the project was implemented by a subsidiary of UZ Cargo Poland, a branch of the Lisky Transport Service Center, and a private Hungarian logistics terminal.
Sun Smart Logistics technologies and equipment and modernized platforms of the Lisky Transport Service Center were used for loading on 1520 mm gauge tracks. At the terminal in Fenishlitke, semi-trailers will be reloaded using R2L technology onto T3000 platforms for further travel on 1435 mm gauge tracks. Thanks to the modernized platforms and special technologies, the semi-trailers were loaded without the use of tractors and cranes.
“This trip confirms the efficiency and versatility of containerized transportation of semi-trailers of any type between Ukraine and European Union countries using 1520 and 1435 mm gauges,” Ukrzaliznytsia concluded.
Ukrzaliznytsia received 2,000 tons of high-tech R-65 rails from Japanese manufacturer Nippon Steel, with another 1,000 tons expected to be delivered by the end of January, according to a press release from the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development on Thursday.
According to the release, this cooperation was made possible within the framework of the third phase of the emergency recovery program through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
“This was the result of systematic interaction and successful agreements with Japanese partners on the part of the Ministry in early 2025. Ukraine currently does not have its own rail production, so attracting partner support is necessary and crucial for the functioning of the Ukrainian railway,” the ministry emphasized.
It is noted that the cooperation currently involves the transfer of 3,000 tons of rails for a total amount of about $4 million.
The ministry specified that railway workers use mobile complexes to weld rails directly on the tracks and thermally join joints, resulting in the creation of a so-called “velvet track” without joints, which increases its service life and ensures smooth train movement.
“We are sincerely grateful to the Government of Japan for its strategic support, which allows us not only to maintain the network, but also to carry out major repairs in accordance with the highest international standards, ensuring reliable connections even in the most difficult times,” said Marina Denisyuk, Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development, in a press release.
The Ministry of Development recalled that support from the Japanese government and JICA has continued since the beginning of the full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation. In particular, during this period, almost 25,000 tons of rails have been delivered, which has made it possible to renovate more than 193 km of tracks on strategic routes of the Lviv, South-Western, Dnipro, Southern, and Odesa railways.
In addition, railway workers also received 24 units of construction and loading/unloading equipment from Komatsu, Toyota, and Sonalika, 22 of which were track equipment, and the total cost of equipment and materials supplied during the first two phases of the program exceeded $42 million, the agency noted.
“The delivered equipment, namely wheel excavators, loaders, and bulldozers, has already worked more than 13,000 motor hours on emergency repair work,” the agency emphasized.
