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.
Ukrzaliznytsia JSC has announced changes to train schedules, including suburban trains, starting January 22, due to the need to minimize delays caused by increased traffic on the Fastiv section, which was damaged by Russia in December.
According to the company’s statement, changes have also been made to certain routes for safety reasons.
Ukrzaliznytsia specified that in total, more than 100 suburban train schedules throughout Ukraine have been revised, which should “unload” the most intense sections and reduce delays.
The company noted that trains will run according to the updated schedules starting on the night of January 21-22 and urged passengers to pay attention to the date of the schedule when choosing a flight – “дійсний з 22.01.2026” (valid from 22.01.2026).
Ukrzaliznytsia also warned that until the new schedules come into effect, delays of 1-2 hours are possible, depending on the intensity of traffic on the Fastiv section.
The company recommends checking the current suburban train schedules on the South-Western Railway website.
In January 2026, Ukrzaliznytsia will raise prices for most types of rolling stock, with only the cost of transportation by grain carriers and container platforms remaining unchanged, corresponding to the December rates of UAH 1,250/day and UAH 203/day (excluding VAT), respectively.
According to the tariffs published on the company’s website, in January 2026, compared to December 2025, the cost of tank cars for transporting food products will increase from UAH 738/day to UAH 938/day (excluding VAT), mineral carriers – from 203 UAH/day to 450 UAH/day (excluding VAT), and semi-cars – from 1350 UAH/day to 1450 UAH/day (excluding VAT).
Ballast and cement tankers will increase in price by 100 UAH/day, to 703 UAH/day and 1,300 UAH/day (excluding VAT), respectively.
The cost of fitting platforms will also change: 40-foot platforms will increase from 750 UAH/day to 900 UAH/day (excluding VAT), 60-foot platforms — from 850 to 900 UAH/day, and 80-foot platforms will increase from 1250 to 1450 UAH/day (excluding VAT).
The cost of tanks for transporting liquefied gas will increase by 400 UAH to 603 UAH/day (excluding VAT) in January.
Only flatbed timber trucks will become cheaper by 200 UAH, to 1360 UAH/day (excluding VAT).
Ukrzaliznytsia has equipped 100 of its own railcars as temporary mobile heating, communication, and leisure centers in response to power outages across the country, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Ukrzaliznytsia, with the help of its partners—All Hands&Hearts, World Central Kitchen, Hachiko Foundation, and White Stork—has equipped 100 of its railcars as temporary mobile heating, communication, and leisure centers,” the company said in a statement on its Telegram channel.
It is noted that the railcars have a full heating system. In addition, they are equipped with chargers from generators and portable power sources, microwaves, refrigerators, and Starlink kits for uninterrupted communication.
Ukrzaliznytsia added that each of the 100 carriages can be used at the request of local authorities as a free mobile hub with a constant autonomous power supply.
Separately, the company noted that the cars have a children’s compartment equipped with play sets, as well as a compartment for a comfortable stay with pets.
The volume of freight traffic carried by Ukrzaliznytsia in 2025 will decrease by 7% compared to last year, from 173 million tons to 160 million tons, and in subsequent years it will only be possible to increase it to 161 million tons and 162 million tons, respectively, the company announced to journalists during a presentation on November 7.
According to the presentation, it is expected that in 2025-2026, the volume of ore and manganese transportation will amount to 44 million tons compared to 43 million tons last year, and in 2027, it will decrease to 42 million tons.
Grain and flour transportation in 2025-2027 is forecast at 31 million tons, which is 22.5% or 9 million tons less than in 2024.
Ukrzaliznytsia noted that it expects a reduction in the transportation of building materials from 35 million tons in 2024 to 30-32 million tons in 2025-2027.
According to the presentation, coal transportation volumes in 2025-2027 will decrease by 17.4% compared to 2024, from 23 million tons to 19 million tons.
The company plans to partially offset these losses by increasing the transportation of other cargo from 32 million tons last year to 36 million tons this year, and then increasing it by 1 million tons annually.
Ukrzaliznytsia added that the total volume of cargo transportation from 2021 to 2025 decreased by 49% – from 315 million tons to 160 million tons. In particular, during this period, there was a 43% reduction in ore transportation, 52% in building materials, and 62% in coal.
According to the presentation, the forecast for the profitability of freight transportation is even worse: last year’s profit of UAH 20.4 billion will decrease to UAH 3.2 billion next year, and the following year, freight transportation will bring a loss of UAH 0.6 billion, and in 2027 – UAH 4.8 billion.
The company cites the freezing of tariffs, which were last increased in 2022, as the reason, although the producer price index has risen by 69.3% since then.
In September 2025, Valery Tkachov, deputy director of the commercial department of Ukrzaliznytsia, reported that the company expects freight traffic to decline this year to 162-165 million tons from 175 million tons last year, after partially recovering from a drop to 150-155 million tons in the first two years of Russia’s full-scale aggression from 312-315 million tons.
Tkachov then stressed that in order to rectify the situation, an active search for new cargoes is underway, in particular, retail and small and medium-sized business cargoes, ranging from forest products to industrial products and a large number of other segments.
Serhiy Leshchenko, deputy chairman of the supervisory board of Ukrzaliznytsia, reported last week in the Verkhovna Rada that the company’s net loss for the first nine months of this year amounted to UAH 7.195 billion.
According to him, the company proposes to index freight tariffs by 27.5% from January 1 next year and by another 11% from July 1.
The volume of Ukrzaliznytsia’s export shipments in January-June 2025 decreased by 13.5% to 38.7 million tons, domestic shipments by 11.7% to 35.5 million tons, while the volume of import transportation increased by 5.4% to 5.3 million tons.
In 2024, the company increased its revenue by 11.1% to UAH 102.87 billion, but incurred a net loss of UAH 2.71 billion compared to a net profit of UAH 5.04 billion in 2023.
