A project to integrate the Ukrainian railway system into the EU transport network has been approved under the European Union's Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) grant program. The CEF Coordination Committee approved the project proposal on 16 July.
The Ukrainian Railways joint-stock company (Ukrzaliznytsia) announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports.
This project aims to enhance the railway network and develop the 1435 mm track gauge to ensure technological compatibility and increase the capacity of the railway infrastructure.
The total budget for the project is EUR 85.91 million, of which the CEF will provide EUR 42.95 million to Ukrzaliznytsia.
“For the second year in a row, the CEF is providing funds for the implementation of strategic infrastructure projects aimed at the construction of European standard gauge tracks in Ukraine, which will allow us to open new passenger routes and increase Ukraine's transit potential,” said Ukrzaliznytsia Board Chairman Yevhen Liaschenko.
The project proposal provides for the design of the reconstruction of the railway structures with the introduction of the 1435 mm track gauge on the Chop - Lviv railway section using the 1435 mm track gauge; the design of the reconstruction of the railway structures with the construction of the 1435 mm track gauge and electrification on the Lviv - Chernivtsi - Vadul-Siret - Ukrainian border railway section; development of a strategy for the reconstruction of the Lviv railway junction, taking into account the prospects for the development of the 1435 mm gauge railway network of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) within Ukraine; design and construction of a 1435 mm gauge track with electrification on the Pavlove-2/Matiovtse - Uzhhorod railway line; electrification of the 1435 mm gauge track on the Chop - Uzhhorod railway section.
The project also provides for expenditures on the conduct of Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI) for the above-mentioned projects, as well as for the Kovel - Yahodyn -Ukrainian border and Medyka/Mostyska II - Lviv (Sknyliv) sections.
