The Ministry of Infrastructure is studying the possibility of launching a train from Ukraine to Slovakia. In addition, a train to Hungary is expected to be launched in 2017.
Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelian announced this on the Espresso television channel, the Ministry of Infrastructure said.
"A new destination in Poland is currently being considered. In addition, we want to launch the Mukacheve-Budapest route this year. It is also a potentially very interesting route. We are considering a route to Slovakia. In recent decades, it just happened that our ‘Train Number 1’ traveled to Moscow, but it should travel to Europe and we are fighting for that," Omelian said.
As the CFTS portal previously reported, Ukrzaliznytsia may launch a train to another Polish city in the near future, following the launch of a train to Przemysl. The next train may be launched to Chelm, where there is a 1520-mm rail track.
In addition, Ukrzaliznytsia’s Board Chairman Wojciech Balczun announced in late December last year that negotiations were already underway to establish a rail link between Mukacheve and Budapest.
The longest railway stretches with combined tracks (the 1520-millimeter gauge and the 1435-millimeter/European gauge) in Ukraine are in the Zakarpattia region: the Chop-Batiovo-Mukacheve railway stretch (40 kilometers electrified) and the Batiovo-Korolevo-Dyakovo stretch (about 80 kilometers).
Ukrzaliznytsia is also considering launching trains to other destinations in Europe, particularly in the Baltic States, in the medium-term future.
