Ukrainian Railways, or PAT 'Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ)' (), is a state-owned joint-stock company administering railway infrastructure and rail transport in Ukraine; a monopoly that controls the vast majority of the railroad transportation in the country. Ukrainian Railways is the world's sixth largest rail passenger transporter and world's seventh largest freight transporter. As of 2020, the total length of the main broad-gauge () railroad network was , making it the 13th largest in the world. Ukraine also has many stretches of standard-gauge railway (1,435 mm), and is currently working to expand these in order to improve its connections to the European Union.
In 2015, Ukrainian Railways was transformed through a merger of a state agency and a state-owned enterprise into a public joint stock company owned by the state. Ukraine's State Administration of Railroad Transportation is subordinated to the Ministry of Infrastructure, administering the railways through the six territorial railway companies that immediately control and provide of all aspects of the railroad transportation and maintenance under the common Ukrzaliznytsia brand. The general director of the administration is appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The company employs more than 191,700 people throughout the country.
During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian Railways continued operating to evacuate and rescue millions of people from cities out of the country. The rail links between Ukraine and Russia have been blown up by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to prevent their use by Russians, but the railways have continued operating within Ukraine and between Ukraine and Poland, Hungary, Republic of Moldova, and Slovakia. One long-abandoned cross-border rail link with Poland was quickly reconstructed, and others which had been used only for freight have been quickly opened for passenger use. The rail service has evacuated over two million people from Ukraine on special evacuation trains. After some of the Black Sea ports became unavailable for grain export, rail became an export route to the rest of Europe. Several rail sections in the North and South became unusable.
Company structure
Financial outlook
As of 2026, Ukrainian Railways (UZ) faces a critical financial crisis, induced by significant asset losses and necessitated military use amidst the ongoing conflict. In the first quarter of 2026, the company reported a loss of 7.9 billion hryvnias. Since January 2026, the company holds a Restricted Default (RD) credit rating from Fitch Ratings, and a Selective Default (SD) from S&P Global Ratings due to the suspension of coupon payments on its debt obligations. UZ is currently in the process of restructuring negotiations to manage its significant debt. By the end of 2025, freight traffic had fallen by year-on-year 7.8 percent to 161.3 million tonnes, whilst revenue dropped by 19 percent. By the end of the first quarter of 2026, freight volumes had dropped further year-on-year to 34.8 million tonnes.
The railway serves a vital lifeline for the country, providing key services for passenger, freight and military use. The company is one of Ukraine's largest employers, with over 169,000 personnel as of 2026. Nonetheless, a twenty-seven percent reduction in staff (62,000 people) has been observed since 2022. In October 2022, it was reported that 263 railroad workers had been killed during the course of the war. At the beginning of 2026, it was reported that 1,030 employees of UZ had been killed, with another 2,923 wounded as a result of strikes. UZ has faced significant asset degradation as a result of the conflict. Assets such as rolling stock, railway stations and railway lines have faced increasing attacks, with incidents in 2025 exceeding the combined total of the previous two years. In late June 2026, CEO Oleksandr Pertsovskyi remarked that a "simply insane" surge in the number of strikes had occurred, with over 100 locomotives falling under attack since the start of the year. In early July 2026, it was further reported that over 200 locomotives had been destroyed or damaged since the start of the year.
Further economic factors affecting the company include rising inflation in the country, as well as protectionist measures from the European Union, such as the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
Against a difficult financial situation, UZ plans to consolidate its rolling stock by removing older equipment through a scrap metal scheme, as well as increase revenue from the relatively profitable freight sector. UZ plans to increase tariffs on freight traffic by forty-five percent by January 2027, with a thirty percent rise to occur from August 2026. The increase in tariffs has received significant backlash from affected parties, stating that the move would result in the further reduction and shutdown of industrial facilities, amidst a period of significant inflation for the Ukrainian hryvnia, with industrial inflation as 40.2 percent as of April 2026. A letter from Ukrmetallurgprom states that increased tariffs would result in a decline in national GDP of nearly 100 billion hryvnia, with prominent facilities such as ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih having already partially shutdown due to a disruption in reliable industrial rail service.
Administrative structure The railways are split into six territorial railway companies: Donetsk, Lviv, Odesa, Southern, South-Western and Cisdnieper. The subdivision is purely administrative as it doesn't correspond to the particular railway lines or branches. The names of regional railways are purely historic, inherited from the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires (for instance the 'South-Western Railway' actually operates the north-central part of Ukraine's rail network, while the 'Southern Railway' actually operates in the east of the country). There is no Kharkiv "South Station" in the official documents of Ukrzaliznytsia, (12 December 2022)
The six separate territorial railways each have their own directorates, located in the following cities: +No.NameName in UkrainianEstablishedNetwork lengthManaged fromNotes1Donetsk RailwaysДонецька залізниця18722927.6 kmLyman Significant sections of line in Russian control.2Lviv RailwaysЛьвівська залізниця18614,521 kmLviv3Odesa RailwaysОдеська залізниця18654,000 kmOdesa4Southern RailwaysПівденна залізниця18693,000 kmKharkiv5Southwestern RailwaysПівденно-Західна залізниця18704,668 kmKyiv6Cisdnieper RailwayПридніпровська залiзниця18733,275 kmDniproSignificant sections of line in Russian control. Naming With all operational lines constructed prior to Ukrainian Independence, the names of branches reflect the geography of the Russian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As a result, Southern Railways and Southwestern Railways are located in their respective directions in relation to Russia, but are located in the northeast and north of Ukraine. In 2024, it was reported that railway stations were being renamed to comply with Ukrainian derussificaion and decommunisation laws, with the removal of names such as "Paris Commune". In February 2025, the Commission of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory claimed that "Southwestern" and "Southern Railways" names were propaganda for Russian imperial policy and violate the law.
Enactment of the law "On Railway Transport of Ukraine"
The law seeks to harmonize Ukrainian rail-related legislation with European Union law. It sets out the basic requirements, responsibilities and rights of the infrastructure operator, the carrier and the owners of access tracks, rules for infrastructure management, basic requirements for railway rolling stock, and basic activities of railway rolling stock operators. The bill also provides for the creation of a system of public administration in the field of railway safety in accordance with the requirements of European Union legislation, the implementation of which is provided by the Association Agreement, which will increase transport safety in conditions of competition in the railway market. According to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, the law, supported by European experts, serves as a starting point for real reforms in the industry.
Structural reform of Ukrainian Railways JSC
The company is to be separated into verticals in accordance with modern practices. This involves the creation of separate freight, passenger, production and infrastructure operators within Ukrainian Railways by the end of 2021. According to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, the project will ensure the transparency of financial flows within the company, and improve the quality of management of each activity. This will allow Ukrainian Railways to prepare for the emergence of private competitors in the railway market.
Subsidiaries and partners
Ukrainian Railways owns or cooperates with several rail and train companies.
Infrastructure
Rolling stock
Ukrzaliznytsia has several repair factories capable of producing locomotives and railcars. In addition there is a separate Kryukiv Railcar Engineering Factory and Dnieper Railcar Engineering that also produce railroad rolling stock for Ukrzaliznytsia and other companies for public transportation.
In November 2010, UZ agreed to buy 10 high-speed HRCS2 multiple unit interurban trainsets from Hyundai Rotem, with the prospect of a much larger order or joint venture for local production. The first two trains would be delivered in February 2012, two more in April and another two in May, when they will start operating. They will be rated as Inter City+ and will be connecting Kyiv with Kharkiv, Donetsk and Lviv, and at a later stage with Dnipro and Odesa.
In July 2011 UZ announced plans to buy 433 electric freight locomotives; 292 2EL4s from Transmashholding, and 141 locomotives (including class VL11M/6) from Elmavalmshenebeli (Tbilisi). Due to the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine Transmashholding was put on a sanctions list.
In December 2017, UZ and GE Transportation agreed a to strategic partnership for the implementation of a 7-year rolling stock renewal program including the delivery of 30 locomotives to Ukrzaliznytsia in September 2018 with 40% manufactured in Ukraine.GE Transportation to deliver 30 locomotives to Ukrzaliznytsia in Sep 2018, UNIAN (4 December 2017)
Locomotives