Starting from September 2025, Ukraine has taken an important step towards transport integration with Europe: the first section of the European railway line has officially opened between Chop and Uzhhorod. This was announced by the Minister for Communities and Territories Development, Oleksii Kuleba.
This is reported by Kyiv24
New railway route: launch details
The new Euro-railway, with a width of 1,435 millimeters and a length of 22 kilometers, connects Chop and Uzhhorod. This allows Uzhhorod to become the first regional center in Ukraine with direct railway connections to European Union countries. Starting from September 12, it will be possible to travel by train from Uzhhorod to European cities such as Bratislava, Košice, Budapest, and Vienna. Ticket sales opened on September 5.
“Thanks to this, Uzhhorod has become the first regional center to receive direct railway connections with the European Union. From September 12, trains will depart from here to Bratislava, Košice, Budapest, and Vienna. Ticket sales have already opened today, September 5,” Kuleba stated.
Euro-railway: investments and development prospects
The construction of the new section lasted from August 2024 to August 2025. The total costs amounted to 1.3 billion hryvnias: half of the amount was provided as a grant from the EU under the Connecting Europe Facility project, while the other part was financed by the European Investment Bank through a loan program.
The next step will be the extension of the Euro-standard railway from Uzhhorod to Lviv, as well as the construction of the Sknyliv – Mostyska-2 section. This will create a direct railway route from Lviv to Poland and further to other European countries. The European Union has already allocated 76 million euros in grant support for these projects.
Minister Kuleba emphasized that the launch of the Euro-railway marks the beginning of a large-scale integration of the Ukrainian railway into the European network, which will significantly ease logistics and contribute to economic growth.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, participated in the opening of the Euro-railway and stressed the importance of such projects for the country, especially in the context of war.
Note: Historically, Ukraine has a wider railway gauge (1520 mm) than most European countries (1435 mm). This is a remnant from the Russian Empire and the Soviet period. The country is now actively working to address this infrastructure issue within the framework of Euro-integration processes.