The Ukrainian government intends to implement a project involving creation of a high-speed rail link between Kyiv and the Boryspil international airport by December 2018. Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman announced this on Twitter on February 16, the CFTS reports.
"We have a real technical solution that we are capable of implementing before the end of the year. It will be possible to reach the airport or Kyiv in 35 minutes. A ticket will cost UAH 80-120," he wrote.
At the same time, according to the prime minister, construction of the railway line between Kyiv and the airport should begin no later than June 1 and its construction should be completed in December this year.
"The government and Volodymyr Groysman himself have set Ukrzaliznytsia PJSC the most important task: to build a high-speed railway line to the Boryspil airport by the end of the year. The time is short, but it is realistic. Construction should begin no later than June 1 and be completed in December 2018,” the acting board chairman of the Ukrainian Railways public joint-stock company (Ukrzaliznytsia), Yevhen Kravtsov, wrote on his Facebook page.
According to data provided by Kravtsov, up to UAH 800 million in investments is needed for implementation of the project, including UAH 720 million in capital investments. The amount of capital investments includes UAH 450 million in construction of an overpass, UAH 100 million in construction of a road and platforms, reconstruction of the catenary network, and other projects, UAH 70 million in construction of a depot, and UAH 100 million in technical upgrade of rail buses.
Launch of trains to the Boryspil international airport is expected to reduce the volume of traffic on Kyiv roads (by about 1,000 cars and 30 buses per day).
Implementation of this project, which is called the "Air Express" project, began in 2013.
Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelian stated in April 2017 that Ukraine and China were preparing for talks on the prospects for implementation of the project for construction of a railway line from Kyiv to the Boryspil international airport.
The cost of implementation of the "Air Express" project was estimated at USD 300-320 million in 2017.
According to the Boryspil international airport’s General Director Pavli Riabikin, the need for a rail link between Boryspil and Kyiv will become acute in the period of 2020-2021. The airport’s management reached this conclusion because of the rate of growth of passenger traffic through the airport.
