Uzhhorod becomes Ukraine’s first regional capital with direct electrified EU rail
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The first standard-gauge track built in modern Ukrainian history originally commenced on Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo: Ministry for Restoration, Infrastructure, and Transport)
Direct passenger rail service into the European Union without border locomotive swaps will soon launch from Uzhhorod, Infrastructure Minister Mykola Kalashnyk announced on Sept. 22.
The modernization paves the way for direct, uninterrupted passenger train routes into the European Union, removing the historic requirement to swap locomotives at the frontier.
"We are turning Uzhhorod into the first Ukrainian regional capital with a direct passenger rail connection to EU member states," Kalashnyk said.
"Our next objective is to complete electrification all the way to the Hungarian border by late 2026. This will allow international passenger services from Austria, Slovakia, Czechia, and Hungary to run straight into Ukrainian cities without costly delays."
Under the initial development phase, rail crews built 591 overhead catenary poles and strung nearly 30 miles (48 kilometers) of high-voltage contact wire along the Uzhhorod–Chop right-of-way.
The overall capital investment stands at 1.3 billion UAH (approximately $31.5 million). Half of the financing was provided through a non-repayable infrastructure grant from the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF Transport) program, with the remaining capital funded jointly by the state budget and Ukrzaliznytsia’s internal revenues — including 285 million UAH ($6.9 million) appropriated by the government in 2026.
Construction is already progressing on the project's second phase: electrifying the spur running from Chop to the Ukrainian-Hungarian border crossing at Zahony, slated for completion before the end of 2026.
Because Ukraine’s upgraded corridor operates on 3-kilovolt direct current (DC) while Hungary’s electrified rail network runs on 25-kilovolt alternating current (AC), cross-border operations will deploy dual-system electric locomotives. The multi-voltage rolling stock will shave significant transit times off cross-border schedules, slash carrier operating overhead, and permit scheduled trains originating in Vienna, Prague, Bratislava, and Budapest to terminate directly in Uzhhorod.
Commercial rail traffic along the newly laid Chop–Uzhhorod European-gauge corridor — the first standard-gauge track built in modern Ukrainian history — originally commenced on Sept. 5, 2025.
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