"Ukrzaliznytsia" proposes to create a budget carrier to the EU

JSC "Ukrzaliznytsia" proposed to create a budget railway passenger carrier between Ukraine and the European Union. For the project implementation, it is planned to attract $441 million of equity capital.

The EU-Ukraine Low Cost Railway Passenger Carrier project is presented in the investment catalog of the Carpathian 8 Summit. Its initiator is indicated as "Ukrzaliznytsia", and the project itself is currently at the stage of in-depth preparation.

The initiative involves the purchase of modern trains for the European track gauge and the creation of a carrier focused on the markets of Central and Eastern Europe. Trains are planned to depart from the western railway hubs of Ukraine - Uzhhorod, Lviv, and Kovel.

Among the potential destinations are Budapest, Bratislava, Warsaw, Vienna, and Berlin. Thus, the project is intended to provide direct passenger connections between Ukrainian cities and a number of major centers of Central Europe and Germany.

The declared capital requirement for the project is $441 million. It is specifically about attracting equity capital, not about already approved state funding. The estimated time to launch the carrier is four years.

The project is related to the development of TEN-T transport corridors. Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania are involved in potential cooperation, including railway and trucking operators of these countries.

In the C8 catalog, the project has the code C8-UA-050 and is linked to Zakarpattia. A separate information package has been prepared for potential investors, containing a financial model with NPV, IRR, payback period, revenue and EBITDA forecasts, as well as data on permit documentation.

At the same time, the published information currently does not include planned ticket prices, the number of trains, a specific start date for transportation, or a finally approved list of routes. That is, for now, it concerns an investment project of "Ukrzaliznytsia", not a decision already adopted regarding the launch of a new carrier.

Source: Carpathian 8 Summit