UKRAINE: National railway Ukrzaliznytsia has begun a project to electrify the 94 km line from Kovel to Izov and the Polish border. The route handles 90% of rail freight tonnage between the two countries, mainly iron ore being exported from the Kryvyi Rih region to steelmakers in Poland via the LHS broad gauge route.
The electrification project includes the upgrading of 24 km of track and the modernisation of six station platforms and 18 station buildings.
Electrification will enable UZ to increase the gross weight of freight trains from 4 600 to 6 000 tonnes, reducing costs by an estimated 200m hryvnia per year while cutting CO2 emissions.
In conjunction with the UZ scheme, Poland has agreed to electrify its 3 km section of the route from the border to Hrubieszów.
