Three months after the laying of the first European standard 1435 mm gauge track segment on the Chop-Uzhhorod route, which took place on April 11 in the presence of Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Ukrzaliznytsia CEO Yevhen Lyashchenko, further progress on the project has not materialized.
According to CTS, this was stated by former Ukrzaliznytsia top manager now collaborating with RegioJet, Oleksandr Krasnoshtan.
"Three months ago, following Denys Shmyhal's post, there was great anticipation: the construction of European gauge railway to Uzhhorod began. The first track panel was laid, signaling that Ukrainians would soon have a splendid opportunity for travel to the EU. But after three months of anticipation, the first panel remains the last for now. Consequently, optimism has waned," he wrote on Facebook.
Recall that the project involves constructing a 22 km railway line to European standards. It also includes the reconstruction of artificial structures, facilities, and engineering networks. The next stage will involve electrifying the European gauge railway.
The project is set to be implemented with 50% grant co-financing from the EU's Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). The total project cost is 1.3 billion UAH, with a project completion period of 14 months.
Additionally, there are plans to conduct a feasibility study for the possible extension of the European gauge railway from Uzhhorod to Lviv, which would be a crucial step towards connecting Lviv to two European Transport Corridors, namely the Rhine-Danube and Mediterranean TEN-T corridors.
