The construction of the Chernivtsi-Suceava (Romania) Euro-rail track will begin in 2026, the preparation of the feasibility study is underway, Deputy Minister of Finance Oleksandr Kava said.

"Under an optimistic scenario, construction of the Euro-rail to Chernivtsi (from Suceava, Romania) may already begin next year... The preparation of the feasibility study for the project is currently underway. Chernivtsi has the opportunity to become the second regional center after Uzhgorod, which will receive access to the Euro-rail directly in the city," Kava said at the conference "Logistics as a driver of economic growth" organized by the We Build Ukraine think tank.

According to him, the construction of the Chop-Uzhgorod Euro-rail is currently underway, which is financed 50% by Connecting Europe Facilities (CEF) and 50% by the state budget.

The launch of this Euro-rail is planned for the summer of 2025, said Kava.

"This (Chop-Uzhgorod Euro-rail) will not only allow direct passenger trains from Uzhgorod to Budapest, Bratislava, Prague, Vienna, Dresden, but will also enable shippers working in Uzhgorod to send cargo via the Euro-rail to partners in Europe and also receive goods, containers and materials from European countries directly to Uzhgorod," the deputy minister said.

It was previously reported that JSC Ukrzaliznytsia has made temporary changes to the schedule of a number of passenger trains heading to Uzhgorod until the end of July due to large-scale work on laying a European standard track between Chop and Uzhgorod.

Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine - Minister of Communities and Territories Development Oleksiy Kuleba at a meeting with European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas stated that a direct Euro-gauge railway connection to Uzhgorod would be launched in the second half of 2025.