“Ukrzaliznytsia” started the creation of a new international railway hub in Chop (Transcarpathian region) to give passengers from different cities of Ukraine the opportunity to comfortably reach other countries by rail.
According to the press service of the company, in particular, the routes of several trains will be changed in such a way that residents of Kharkiv, Sumy, Kyiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Lviv, and Kovel can conveniently get to Chop, where it will be possible to transfer for flights to Zahony (Hungary), Budapest (Hungary) and Chierni nad Tisou (Slovakia).
Now the following flights operate through Chop:
- No. 59/60 “Kyiv – Chop” (walked before)
- No. 749 “Kyiv – Vienna” (walked before)
- No. 4/3 “Zaporizhia – Uzhhorod” (route changed)
- No. 45/46 “Uzhgorod – Kharkiv” (route changed)
- No. 81/82 “Kyiv – Uzhgorod” (course changed)
- No. 749/750 “Kyiv – Uzhgorod” (course changed)
- No. 265/266 “Kovel – Uzhhorod” (new)
The following international trains will also run from December 11, 2022:
- “Vienna (Austria) – Chop” from Austrian Railways
- “Kosice (Slovakia) – Chop” from Slovak Railways
In addition, in cooperation with Czech carriers, the destination of the flight “Prague – Chop” is also planned, and the date of the start of the service will be announced additionally.
Improving rail connections between Ukraine and neighboring countries
According to “Ukrzaliznytsia”, compared to the indicators before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the volume of international transportation increased 9 times, and 5 new routes to Europe were launched. The biggest excitement is observed on route #67/68 “Kyiv – Warsaw”, the sale of tickets for which has been completely transferred online since November 10, 2022, to fight against speculators.
Active work is also underway to establish a railway connection between Ukraine and Romania, which has not been in place recently. In particular, on November 8, 2022, “Ukrzaliznytsia” made the first trial run on the reconstructed section “Rakhiv – Dilove – Valya-Visheului”. The “Marmorossiy Express” on the border between Ukraine and Romania is planned to be launched at the beginning of December 2022.
At the end of October 2022, it became known that Ukraine plans to launch a train that will run from Uzhgorod to Ivano-Frankivsk, transiting through the territory of Romania.
In addition, Ukraine began to restore passenger rail connections with neighboring Moldova. In particular, on November 5, for the first time in 24 years, train service resumed on the international route “Kyiv – Chisinau”, connecting the capitals of Moldova and Ukraine with a direct flight.