Changing east vector to west vector

Ukrzaliznytsia needs to move from the post-Soviet state to the modern European one. This applies to both management and infrastructure.

Ukraine’s railway network was designed at a time when most goods were transported in the direction of the east. Now, Ukraine is already experiencing a shortage of opportunities for transborder crossings towards the EU countries. 

To ensure a stable export of Ukrainian products, our railway should become a full-fledged part of the single European transport network TEN-T. To do this, we will also have to resolve the issue of track width, which differs in Western Europe (1,435 mm) and countries that were influenced by the Russian Empire (1,540 mm).

Ukraine can benefit from the example of Spain and the Baltic countries, which also had different track widths and are in the process of integrating into the EU rail network, in terms of large-scale railway upgrade. 

For example, Spain was able to change the model of passenger transportation by implementing a large infrastructure project for the development of a high-speed railway, with a total cost of more than USD 56 bln. Prior to it, the country had a track width that did not correspond to the European one (1,668 mm). The role of rail transport in transborder travel was minimal. 

After the implementation of the project, Spain had one of the most extensive high-speed networks in Europe, known as Alta Velocidad Española (AVE). It is integrated with the general network of high-speed railways of the EU countries. In general, the project was a significant breakthrough for Spain and contributed to an increase in travel with the EU countries. 

The development of high-speed rail passenger traffic is one of the key fields for the EU countries, the area and population of which are close to Ukrainian ones, such as France, Germany, Spain, etc. Ukraine also needs to make a speed jump.

It is necessary to reduce the monopoly of Ukrzaliznytsia and attract private companies, in particular, to the locomotive traction market. This will allow faster updating and adaptation of the railway system.

In order for the Ukrainian railway to cease to be an instrument of enrichment and political bargaining, it is important to carry out systemic anti-corruption reforms and minimize political influence on the company. Management should be selected not according to political quota, but through transparent competitions, and their work should be evaluated in accordance with transparent KPIs. Only a change in management approaches and the introduction of absolute openness can change the situation with high corruption in Ukrzaliznytsia.

Of course, we need to modernize the specialized legislation, which will determine the key principles of organization and models of the railway transportation market in post-war Ukraine, and a developed reform plan.

We can start implementing a part of the changes now. Yes, it is unlikely that we will launch a large-scale project on changing the track width or updating locomotives right now. However, for example, the necessary documents and plans can be developed now, without waiting for the war to end. This is a stage that we need to go through anyway, so we should not waste time. It needs to be implemented in preparation for a full-fledged post-war reconstruction of the railway, which will allow us to start implementing reconstruction programs without delay. Given the number of problems with our rail transport, the cost of doing nothing is very high — are we willing to pay it? 

The publication was prepared with the support of USAID / UK aid project Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services/ TAPAS