The draft State Budget for 2026 includes funding for the purchase of 100 passenger cars with a total cost of about 5.7 billion hryvnias. Among them are modern double-decker cars, which should help “Ukrzaliznytsia” reduce passenger transportation costs. This was reported on the website of the Ministry of Finance.
“Double-decker passenger cars will significantly optimize passenger transportation costs. The costs of servicing single- and double-decker cars differ by approximately 10%, while the number of seats in a double-decker car increases by almost 80%. That is, with comparable operating costs, the company will be able to transport significantly more passengers. In the future, the model range of double-decker cars will include options for both night services — with sleeping places, and daytime services — with seats,” explained Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine Oleksandr Coffee.
He made this statement during a meeting with the leadership and members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (ACC), as well as representatives of Ukrainian business. Part of the meeting was devoted to the topic of integrating Ukrainian railways into the European transport network TEN-T. Ukraine already receives grant co-financing from the European Union in the amount of 50% of the cost of projects within the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program. These funds are directed to the development of the Eurogauge and the improvement of logistics routes.
“This year, the Government has already built a Eurogauge of the 1435 mm standard from Chop to Uzhgorod with a length of 22 km, and in 2026 we plan to start work on the direction from the Polish border to Lviv. In the medium term, the Eurogauge should also appear in Chernivtsi and Lutsk. The implementation of these projects is planned within the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), which covers 50% of the cost. The electrification of the Chop – Uzhgorod section of the Eurogauge is also underway, which is planned to be completed by the summer of 2026,” Kava noted.
