The Ministry of Infrastructure is holding preliminary talks with international companies on the possibility of constructing a direct railway line from Kyiv to Odesa. Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelian announced this at a news briefing during the International Transport Week in Odesa on June 1, the CFTS correspondent reports.
According to Omelian, the absence of such a railway line is one of the railway industry’s major problems in southern Ukraine. "Trains travel on a long route. Therefore, the Intercity [high-speed trains] that were supposed to cover the distance in a few hours take 6-7 hours. We are working on it but, unfortunately, it involves a completely different scale of capital investments, much larger figures," the minister said.
Despite the negotiations with international companies, he said that "it should be understood that such a project will not be implemented this or next year."
Currently, trains travel from Odesa to Kyiv through Vinnytsia, close to the Moldovan border, and then turn northeast toward central Ukraine. An alternative route passes through Cherkasy, crossing the River Dnipro and entering Kyiv from the left bank of the river. None of these routes goes directly to Kyiv but require detours.
