THE European Union (EU) has agreed a grant worth €44m for Ukrainian Railways (UZ) under its Ukraine investment framework. The grant supports a European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) loan of €180m made to UZ in December 2024.
While much of the funding will finance the supply and installation of up to 200MW of decentralised, small-scale, gas-fired power-generation capacity at selected UZ sites across Ukraine, €3m of the EU grant funding will contribute to establishing a new in-house UZ Academy to provide training for UZ employees and reintegration programmes for war veterans.
As part of a separate project, EBRD is providing a €10m accessibility grant to support upgrades at major UZ stations in Kyiv and Lviv. The funding will finance step‑free access and energy‑efficient lighting, improved safety and accessibility for passengers with reduced mobility. Energy-efficient lighting across the network will also improve safety for women in public spaces around stations.
“Ukraine’s railways have carried this country through war,” says Katarína Mathernová, EU ambassador to Ukraine. “At the same time, they have become a constant target of Russian drone attacks, which makes this support all the more crucial. We are investing in energy security, mobility and people. This is about keeping trains running, lights on, and Ukraine moving forward.”
