UKRAINE: A letter of intent has been signed for the transfer of 60 Warszawa metro cars to Kyiv as humanitarian aid.
The agreement was signed by mayors Rafał Trzaskowski and Vitali Klitschko during a visit to Kyiv by the leaders of the cities of Warszawa, Praha, Budapest and Bratislava on January 11.
The type 81-572/573 and 81-714/717 cars formed into six-car sets were built in Russia in 1989-97, and are similar to vehicles operated by the Kyiv metro in five-car formations.
Ukraine will be responsible for organising transport, with the first trainset expected to arrive in Kyiv in Q1 2023.
Prior to delivery the speed limiting devices, event recorders, radios and other equipment which is not used in Kyiv will be removed, and the mirrors and power collectors disassembled to avoid damage during transport.
The Kyiv metro carried 162 million passengers in 2022, down from 319 million in 2021. A number of the city’s metro stations are to be renamed as part of a programme of de-Russification and decommunisation.
- Visit Ukraine has provided 1 000 seats for use by people sheltering in underground metro stations during air raid alerts.
