JSC Ukrzaliznytsia has renewed its passenger car fleet and purchased new Ukrainian-made second-class cars. This is the first time in 15 years that the company has done so.

According to the Ministry of Finance, on October 28, 2023, an advance payment was made for the purchase of 44 new passenger cars, including an agreement for the supply of 9 new reserved seats. It should be noted that these are the first new second-class cars to be purchased in the last 15 years, and, more importantly, they are made in Ukraine. The last second-class cars were purchased in 2008, and they were Russian-made.

According to the source, most of the money spent on these purchases comes from the pre-war revenues of the road fund, which were allocated to renew the passenger fleet. This year, Ukrzaliznytsia received funding from the state budget in the amount of UAH 3.5 billion, of which more than UAH 3 billion was allocated for the purchase of new passenger cars. This included finalizing payments for 100 passenger railcars ordered in 2021 and purchasing 44 new railcars in 2023.

The government is going to allocate about UAH 11 billion of budget funds to support rail transport by the end of 2023. Of this amount, UAH 5 billion is allocated from the state budget specifically for rail passenger transportation.

According to the Ministry of Finance, since Ukraine's independence, the fleet of passenger railcars has decreased by more than three times. During the war, Ukraine lost another part of its passenger cars.

To restore the destroyed infrastructure, about UAH 6 billion in loans are to be allocated to Ukrzaliznytsia under state guarantees. However, Ukrzaliznytsia will be obliged to repay these funds from its own revenues in the future.

In addition, work is underway to implement international projects aimed at restoring railway infrastructure. Such projects include a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in the amount of up to EUR 200 million, as well as a USD 25 million grant from the World Bank aimed at restoring critical infrastructure and network connectivity (RELINC). A EUR 37.6 million loan from the French government and a CHF 14 million grant from the Swiss government are also envisaged.