Repair and rehabilitation work is continuing along the Bender-Basarabeasca-Etulia-Giurgiulesti railway segment in Moldova.
As the CFTS portal reported, the modernization of the 230 km railway segment will cost EUR 108 million. The project is being implemented with the support of the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The project is expected to be completed this year.
This railway segment is important for transit logistics in the region and serves as a link between the railway systems of Ukraine, Moldova, and the EU.
On 7 July, the Facebook group Railway of Moldova posted photographs of at least two 2M62 diesel locomotive sections, which are owned by the private company ULBC (Ukrainian Locomotive Building Company), at the railway rehabilitation site.
ULBC was one of two companies that were selected in 2020 and 2021 to participate in a pilot program for introducing private locomotive traction in Ukraine. However, as of the end of 2021, the company had not begun freight transport operations, prompting businesses to advocate for an extension of the pilot program until 2023.
At the beginning of 2024, the Ukrainian Locomotive Building Company said it believed that the legal and regulatory framework for allowing private locomotives on public railway infrastructure had effectively been established. Accordingly, the company argued that Ukraine could resume the pilot program for integrating private traction into the national railway system despite the wartime challenges.
