Ukrainian Railways has announced an updated schedule for 2025-2026, effective from December 14. The plan includes the launch of 11 new trains, comprising 8 international and 3 domestic routes, as well as significant enhancements to current services.
The demand for rail travel is on the rise; in the past 11 months, Ukrainian Railways has transported over 25 million passengers, nearly half a million more than last year. During the summer, the company tested additional services using day trains, which allowed for over 7,000 extra seats on peak days. This approach has become the foundation for the planning of the 2026 schedule.
In the upcoming year, Ukrainian Railways aims to increase seat availability during peak periods by 20%, providing an additional 2 million seats throughout the year.
“We update the schedule based on the real needs of people. This is our priority. We are talking about faster routes, new direct connections, and ensuring more seats for passengers during peak times. We are launching new and upgrading existing international routes,” said Oleksiy Balesta, Deputy Minister of Community Development and Territories of Ukraine.
In the international connections, 8 new routes are planned. Specifically, there will be 3 new trains to Przemyśl and 1 to Chełm in connection with Poland, made possible by the purchase of new carriages under the state program for updating passenger rolling stock.
Key updates for domestic connections include:
- New Train No. 47/48 (Kramatorsk) Barvinkove — Chop
This route is aimed at residents of frontline Donetsk, who currently use multimodal transportation schemes. The additional train improves access to rehabilitation and recovery centers in the Carpathians and Transcarpathia and provides a quick transfer to international routes in Chop.
- New Train No. 33/34 Kryvyi Rih — Ivano-Frankivsk
This train will connect central regions of Ukraine with tourist destinations in Prykarpattia.
- Updated Route Train No. 113/114 Kharkiv — Uzhhorod
The historical “Bakhmut” route is extended to Transcarpathia, a critical connection for residents of Polissia and Volyn, who will gain direct access to the Carpathian destinations while maintaining connections with Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
The new schedule includes over 40 routes to mountain resorts and rehabilitation centers, more than half of which are from frontline areas. A regional train from Lviv to Vorokhta will regularly run on the modern diesel train DPKr-3, which has become popular among passengers and will enhance transfer opportunities during the ski season.
Ticket sales for the new schedule for dates after December 14 are already open in the application and on the website of Ukrainian Railways.
