The Ukrainian Railways joint-stock company (JSC Ukrzaliznytsia) has confirmed its intention to work with private operators on the route between Kyiv and the Boryspil airport.
Ukrzaliznytsia stated this in comments to the CFTS portal.
“Ukrzaliznytsia is absolutely not against private passenger transport operators. We have a tariff scheme that allows us to calculate infrastructure fees for passenger carriers. It currently works with Kyivpastrans regarding the Kyiv city electric train,” Ukrzaliznytsia’s Director of Strategic Development and Investment Policy Anton Sabolevskyi said.
According to him, Ukrzaliznytsia will allow private operators and their crews to operate on the route if the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure issues the relevant transport safety clearance.
As reported earlier, Ukrzaliznytsia’s Board Chairman Yevhen Kravtsov said on May 4 that private trains could be allowed to operate on the Kyiv–Boryspil airport route as one of the options for expanding its carrying capacity.
According to Ukrzaliznytsia, the popularity of express trains between Kyiv and the Boryspil airport has tripled since the launch of the Kyiv–Boryspil airport route on November 30, 2018. In the first six months of 2019, 360,000 passengers used the services of the Kyiv-Boryspil Express.
“There could be several options for acquiring rolling stock: partnership with private entities when we use their trains, government funding, and Ukrzaliznytsia’s own funds,” Kravtsov said.
According to him, five-car trains with a capacity of up to 500 passengers would be ideal for the Kyiv–Boryspil airport route because it could ensure uninterrupted and regular transportation of passengers to the Boryspil airport and back.
“A single train with such a configuration will cost EUR 9 million,” said Kravtsov.
Oleksandr Krasnoshtan, the head of the Ukrzaliznytsia’s long-distance passenger transportation department, said in an interview with the CFTS portal in late March 2019 that private traction could be allowed to operate on passenger routes.
"We also see that private European operators are interested in working with us and traveling to Mukacheve. They see a powerful passenger traffic here, and we have to do this because we are making money out of it. We already had a meeting with one of the carriers, RegioJet (a private Czech operator), which has great interest in traveling to Mukacheve. Earlier, the Czech carrier, Leo Express, wanted to travel to Lviv, but it is unlikely to be able to implement the project now because there is no infrastructure," Krasnoshtan said.
