Kharkiv plans to revive and expand its electric transport system after the war, including possible joint production with Swiss partners. Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the city had prepared for such cooperation even before Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The plan is not limited to repairing damaged transport infrastructure. Kharkiv wants to increase the number of tram routes in different districts and build a new generation of environmentally friendly urban transport.
Prepared before the invasion
According to Terekhov, Kharkiv already has a development scheme for its tram network. The document identifies which routes should be preserved and where new lines are needed. It was prepared with foreign consultants using grant funding from an international financial institution.
The war forced the city to pause implementation, but local authorities say they have not abandoned the project. The goal is to produce modern trams together with investors and run them on renewed infrastructure.
Infrastructure as part of recovery
For Kharkiv, transport recovery means more than mobility. Tram tracks, traction substations, depots and rolling stock are part of the city’s economic return and quality of life after wartime destruction.
If the project moves forward, it could combine foreign technology, local industrial capacity and urban reconstruction. That would make electric transport one of the visible sectors where postwar recovery turns into new production rather than simple replacement of what was damaged.
