Ukraine has launched the construction of its second European-gauge railway line (1435 mm) — this time from the Polish border to Sknyliv, near Lviv. Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction and Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Kuleba announced the project and called it part of Ukraine’s strategy to physically “enter” the EU transport space.
What exactly will be built
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Gauge: 1435 mm (European standard)
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Length: about 80 km
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Section: from the Polish border → Lviv (Sknyliv)
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Deadline for the first stage: end of 2027
This will be a separate line in Eurogauge, not an upgrade of the existing 1520 mm track. That means trains coming from Poland and further from the EU will be able to enter Ukrainian territory without changing bogies or transshipment.
How much it costs and who pays
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Total project cost: ~€190 million
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Confirmed EU grant: €73.5 million under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) — this is non-repayable funding
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The rest will be formed from other external and domestic sources — the project is already included in the government’s broader recovery and integration plans.
Why Ukraine is doing this
Kuleba explained that this is not just a single rail line but part of a systemic integration of Ukrzaliznytsia into the EU transport corridors. The country wants:
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faster movement of exports and imports;
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fewer bottlenecks on the border;
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direct inclusion in TEN-T / EU logistics chains;
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and, ultimately, to make western Ukraine a full-fledged logistics hub.
Today, most of the problems on the Ukrainian–Polish border are caused not only by customs or queues of trucks, but also by the mismatch of railway gauges. A 1435 mm line to Lviv will make it possible to:
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reduce transshipment time;
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launch direct EU–Lviv passenger routes in the future;
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improve military mobility with the EU.
Part of a bigger plan
This is already the second euro-gauge project Ukraine is implementing. The government is gradually building a Western “rail gateway” so that, as EU integration progresses, Ukraine is not cut off from European transport standards.
“This project will promote the development of logistics, increase trade efficiency, and strengthen physical connections between Ukraine and the main EU transport corridors,” Kuleba stressed.
In other words: Ukraine is laying rails as if it were already in the EU — so that when political decisions come, the infrastructure is ready.
