Ukrainians formalize 80,000 tickets in first month of UZ 3,000 km program – Dpty PM

Ukrainians have already exchanged kilometers for 80,000 tickets in the first month of the UZ 3,000 km program, and 500,000 people have registered to participate in the program, said Deputy Prime Minister of Reconstruction of Ukraine - Minister of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine Oleksiy Kuleba.

The total distance traveled by Ukrainians under the 3,000 km Across Ukraine program has reached 38 million kilometers, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration Oleksandr Kuleba said on Monday.

Importantly, the program is being implemented without additional budget funding, Kuleba wrote on his Telegram channel.

According to him, the most popular routes in December were No. 101/102 Kherson–Barvinkove, No. 52/51 Odesa–Zaporizhia, No. 143/144 Sumy–Rakhiv, and No. 88 Zaporizhia–Kovel.

Kuleba said the government plans to scale up the program, with the state rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia offering up to 250,000 seats per month during off-peak periods.

"This will make travel more affordable for passengers for whom price is the key factor," he said.

As reported in late December 2025, around 50,000 Ukrainians have already used the UZ 3,000 km program, which is currently operating in pilot mode.

Under the first phase of the program, launched on December 3, free tickets are available on more than 20 train routes serving frontline cities and regions. The program covers vacant seats in platzkart (open-plan sleeper) and compartment coaches on regional trains, as well as second-class seats on Intercity trains.

The second phase, according to the government resolution, is expected to begin after the introduction of a public service obligation (PSO) mechanism to compensate for the gap between affordable passenger fares and the actual cost of rail transportation.