There are plans to build a railway with the European track gauge of 1435 millimeters from Chernivtsi in the next few years.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal announced this after the ceremonial launch of the construction of the Chop – Uzhhorod European-gauge railway line on 11 April.
"In the near future, we plan to implement similar projects from Lviv and Chernivtsi with EU funds," he said.
Recently, the Ukrainian Railways joint-stock company (Ukrzaliznytsia) stated that it expects to learn in June 2024 the results of the competition for projects under the European Union's Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) grant program, which should approve more than EUR 80 million in funding for the development of railway crossings on Ukraine’s borders with the European Union. These projects include the development of a strategy for developing European standard gauge tracks (1435 mm wide) for the Lviv railway junction. The other proposals include the preparation of a feasibility study for the introduction of 1435 mm gauge tracks on the Chop - Lviv section, the reconstruction of railway facilities with the construction of a 1435 mm gauge track, and the electrification of the Lviv - Chernivtsi - Vadul-Siret - Ukrainian border section.
As shown in a photograph provided by Ukrzaliznytsia, on 11 April, the head of Ukrzaliznytsia showed Shmyhal a diagram showing that the Chernivtsi - Vadul Siret - Ukrainian-Romanian border railway section is part of the future projects for the construction of European-gauge railway tracks.
