Cargo traffic towards the border has increased by 4.4% and cargo traffic in the opposite direction by 8.2% since the introduction of regular traffic through the new dual-track Beskyd tunnel, compared with the old single-track tunnel. The Ukrainian Railways public joint-stock company (Ukrzaliznytsia) announced this in a statement, the Interfax Ukraine news agency reports.
The opening of the new dual-track Beskyd tunnel allowed the speed of freight trains to increase to 60 km/h.
The new tunnel has a length of 1,764 meters, a height of 8.5 meters, and a width of 10.5 meters. It is located 182 meters underground (the Beskyd ridge is 781-807 meters above sea level). It has a throughput of 100 pairs of trains per day. The travel time through the tunnel is 2 minutes at the speed of 60 km/h.
The new Beskyd railway tunnel opened in May. It cost more than UAH 2 billion. Its construction was funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction, Development and the European Investment Bank, and Ukrzaliznytsia itself (which provided more than a quarter of the funds for its construction).
