By the length of the railway network, Ukraine occupies 15th place in the world. The total length of all railways in the country is 21,700 km. A third of them are electrified. In our article, we will briefly talk about Ukrainian railways, their rolling stock and current condition.
Ukrzaliznytsia: in figures and facts
The public joint-stock company Ukrainian Railways (also PJSC Ukrzaliznytsya) is a state-owned enterprise that carries out passenger and freight transportation by rail. In this area, it is a complete monopolist in Ukraine.
The rail history of Ukraine began in the second half of the 19th century. The first railway on its territory was laid back in 1861. She connected Lviv with the Polish Przemysl. Three years later, the Odessa-Balta railway line appeared, which was extended to Kiev in the late 1860s. At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, the Carpathian region was covered by a network of narrow gauge lines.
Nowadays, Ukrainian railways are:
- 1640 stations.
- 120 main stations.
- 26 railway directorates.
- 50 locomotive depots.
- 174939 freight cars.
- 2718 diesel locomotives.
- 1796 electric locomotives.
- 1547 sections of electric trains.
- Over 350 thousand employees.
Every year Ukrzaliznytsia transports 500 million passengers and about 300 million tons of various cargoes.
The current state of the railway infrastructure of Ukraine
It is worth noting that the Ukrainian railways represent 95% of the legacy of three empires: the Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Soviet. This applies to rolling stock, and the railway network, and service enterprises.
Over the entire history, PJSC Ukrzaliznytsia has changed its leadership 17 times. According to experts and ordinary passengers, the most useful for the Ukrainian railway system was Georgy Kirpa, who served as director of the enterprise from 2000 to 2004. Foreign personnel were also involved in the modernization of the Ukrainian railways. In particular, in 2016-2017, Wojciech Balchun, one of the best managers in Poland, was appointed the head of the state-owned enterprise. But this did not bring the expected results.
The current state of the enterprise leaves much to be desired. So, according to Advisor to the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine A. Kava, 75% of all diesel locomotives in the country are operated, despite overdue repairs. Minister A. Pivovarsky did evaluate the state of affairs in the railway sphere as “terrifying,” noting in particular the deplorable state of the canvas. Because of this, in particular, Intercity high-speed trains are not really such, as they simply cannot develop the required speed in many sections.
Today, the main problems of PJSC "Ukrzaliznytsya" are the following:
- High deterioration of rolling stock.
- The significant average age of electric and diesel locomotives (50 and 30 years, respectively).
- High degree of deterioration of freight cars (up to 90%).
- A large number of accidents and breakdowns of rolling stock.
Ukrainian Railway: trains and prices
The railway is the most affordable transport in Ukraine. And given the disastrous state of many roads in the country - it’s also the most convenient.
The cost of train tickets in Ukraine remains quite low. So, a trip from Kiev to Lviv in a reserved seat car will cost 150-180 hryvnias (360-430 rubles), in a compartment car - 500-600 hryvnias (1200-1450 rubles), in a luxury car - about 1800 hryvnias (4300 rubles). For the pleasure of traveling from Kiev to Kharkov on the Intercity train, you will have to pay 500 hryvnias (for a seat in a first-class carriage).
Map of Ukraine Railways
The organizational structure of the enterprise is represented by six railways:
- Lviv (center - Lviv).
- Southwest (Kiev).
- South (Kharkov).
- Dnieper (Dnipro).
- Odessa (Odessa).
- Donetsk (with the center in the city of Liman).
Below is a schematic map of the railways of Ukraine as of 2014.
The maximum density of the railway network is typical for Donbass, the minimum - for the north of the country. The largest railway junctions in Ukraine are such cities as Kiev, Lviv, Zaporozhye, Zhmerynka, Debaltseve, Smela, Znamenka, Pyatikhatki, Lozova, Fastov. The busiest passenger traffic is observed on the following highways:
- Kiev - Korosten - Lviv.
- Kiev - Fastov - Zhmerynka.
- Kiev - Poltava - Kharkov.
- Fastov - Bila Tserkva - Smela - Pyatikhatki.
- Kryvyi Rih - Nikopol - Zaporozhye.
- Kharkov - Lozova - Dnieper - Zaporozhye.
- Lviv - Mukachevo - Chop.
If we talk about freight traffic, the busiest lines are: Kryvyi Rih - Dnepr - Zaporozhye and Fastov - Kazatin - Lviv.