A rail service may be launched on the Mukacheve-Debrecen (Hungary) route in September 2017 and subsequently extended to Budapest. This international rail project will follow the launch of the Kovel-Chelm (Poland) train, which is scheduled to launch on June 12.
Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Viktor Dovhan announced this, the CFTS portal reports, citing Hromadske.
"Kyiv-Przemysl has already been implemented, Kovel-Chelm will definitely be launched within a week, and the next project is Mukacheve-Debrecen-Budapest. Representatives of the Hungarian side will arrive on June 20. Then we will be able to provide a specific date. We are hoping that the first train will be launched as early as September," he said.
In this context, he said it was necessary to address the issue of lack of locomotives for new trains.
As reported earlier, Ukraine’s Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelian has said that Hungary is ready to provide a high-speed train for operation on the Mukacheve-Budapest route, but Ukraine should repair the section of the railroad tracks located on its territory.
There is combined rail track (1520 mm + 1435 mm (European)) to Mukacheve, but it does not reach the Mukacheve station. It ends at a transshipment complex on the outskirts of the city. To launch a train to Hungary, Ukraine needs to complete approximately 500 meters of combined track. In addition, electrification of the Zakhon-Chop transboundary segment is desirable to optimize train traffic.
As the CFTS portal reported, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ukrainian Railways public joint-stock company (Ukrzaliznytsia) are working on the launch of another international train between Uzhhorod and Kosice (Slovakia). In addition, Ukraine and Bulgaria are discussing the launch of a Kyiv-Sofia train. Ukrzaliznytsia also plans to launch a Lviv-Krakow train on August 1. "After Krakow, we plan to link Chernivtsi and Romania by train and other projects," Ukrzaliznytsia’s Board Chairman Wojciech Balczun said.
