Ukrainian Railways Unveils New Schedule for 2025-2026
Ukrainian Railways has announced a new travel schedule for 2025–2026, effective from December 14. This schedule includes the launch of 11 new trains — 8 international and 3 domestic, alongside significant improvements to existing routes.
Demand for train travel continues to grow. Over the past 11 months, Ukrainian Railways has transported more than 25 million passengers, nearly half a million more than last year. During the summer, the company tested a model of additional services through daytime circulating trains, which allowed for over 7,000 extra seats on peak days. This approach has laid the groundwork for planning the schedule for 2026.
Overall, next year, Ukrainian Railways plans to increase seating availability during peak periods by 20% and provide an additional 2 million seats annually.
“The travel schedule of Ukrainian Railways is updated based on the real needs of people. This is our priority. We are focusing on faster routes, new direct connections, and ensuring more seats for passengers during peak times,” said Oleksii Balesta, Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine.
In the international connection segment, 8 new routes have been planned. Specifically, with Poland, 3 new trains to Przemyśl and 1 to Chełm have been added, 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 the frontline Donetsk region, who currently use a multimodal transport scheme. The additional service improves access to rehabilitation and recovery centers in the Carpathians and Transcarpathia, ensuring 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 for Train No. 113/114 Kharkiv — Uzhhorod
The historic “Bakhmut” train now extends to Transcarpathia. This crucial connection will benefit residents of Polissia and Volyn, providing direct access to the Carpathian locations while maintaining connections with Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
In the direction of mountain resorts and rehabilitation centers, the new schedule includes over 40 routes, more than half of which come from frontline areas. A regional train from Lviv to Vorokhta will run regularly on the modern diesel train DPKr-3, which has become popular among passengers and will enhance transfer opportunities during the ski season.
Ticket sales under the new schedule for dates after December 14 are already open in the application and on the Ukrainian Railways website.
