Ukrainian Railways, known as Ukrzaliznytsia, is on the verge of introducing a new train route to a region where cross-border passenger transport has been absent for more than 15 years. This new connection between Lviv and Warsaw, with a transfer at Rava-Ruska, is expected to commence operation as early as this autumn, according to a statement by the carrier’s press service reported to UNIAN.
To establish this Lviv-Warsaw connection, Ukrzaliznytsia conducted extensive track renovations on the Rava-Ruska to Derzhkordon section. Additionally, infrastructure preparation for convenient transfers between trains with different track gauges (1435 mm and 1520 mm) and border customs operations was completed at the Rava-Ruska station.
“This development enables the launch of the Lviv-Warsaw connection this autumn, with a transfer between two coordinated trains at Rava-Ruska, where cross-border passenger transport has been absent for over 15 years,” the statement read. Ukrzaliznytsia representatives further mentioned that in the medium-term perspective, the development of a hub-based transportation model involves constructing a 1435 mm track to the main hub stations in Ukraine, including Lviv. This expansion will significantly increase the number of trains in the Ukraine-EU connection and actively engage European railway operators that use the 1435 mm track.
Ukrzaliznytsia is still awaiting final approval from the Polish side for launching the Kyiv-Warsaw connection with railcars of the standard gauge used in Ukraine. This move aims to boost passenger traffic between the capitals several times over, according to the statement.
Ukrzaliznytsia also noted that a successful test run of this train took place on June 1, 2023. Additionally, in June, 14 railcars of the test train on the Kyiv-Warsaw route with the standard Ukrainian gauge received QR codes and Polish railway markings.
