Ukrzaliznytsia to receive EUR 54 mln in grant aid from EU and EBRD

The European Union and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are providing grants totaling EUR 54 million to Ukrzaliznytsia to implement three programs: supporting energy independence, developing accessibility, and training railway workers.

"In wartime, we all not only travel by rail but truly value its enormous contribution to the lives of citizens, businesses, the military, and people who need to be evacuated from the front lines," EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova emphasized during the official signing of the grant support in Kyiv on Tuesday, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reports.

This amount consists of a EUR 44 million investment grant from the EU to expand support for Ukrzaliznytsia, which received a EUR 180 million loan from the EBRD signed in December 2024, as well as a EUR 10 million EBRD accessibility grant for the urgent modernization of major railway stations.

Previously, the project also received a parallel grant of GBP 20 million (approximately EUR 24 million) from the UK government to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, administered through the Energy Community Secretariat.

According to Mathernova, this assistance will also facilitate the reintegration of veterans into the railway system.

In a comment to the agency, Ukrzaliznytsia Management Board Chairman Oleksandr Pertsovsky noted that EUR 41 million of the total grant support will go toward the energy component.

"It is very important for us to have the ability to at least partially power our network even during blackouts. Plus, this is a matter of economic expediency, as this is one of our critical cost items," Pertsovsky specified.

According to him, installing the company’s own cogeneration units is an economically justified and strategically correct step for a major electricity consumer like Ukrzaliznytsia.

"The EBRD loan, together with contributions from the EU and the UK government, will finance the supply and installation of up to 200 MW of decentralized, small gas power plants at selected Ukrzaliznytsia facilities across Ukraine, helping address the electricity shortage and ensure uninterrupted power supply to households and businesses," the bank commented.

The second part of the program, amounting to EUR 10 million, will target the development of accessibility.

"This is something all passengers will see. They likely already see it, for instance, at the Kyiv station, where we have begun work on rebuilding the second platform to raise it and install elevators and escalators," the Ukrzaliznytsia head noted.

He clarified that the EBRD is assisting with the supply of relevant equipment for accessibility development.

Another EUR 3 million will go toward the third part of the program: personnel training.

"We have a very large need to retrain staff," Pertsovsky clarified, reminding that the company is Ukraine’s largest employer.

Ukrzaliznytsia notes that currently about 12,000 employees serve in the Armed Forces, and the company awaits their return, while understanding many may take different positions. "Some have gained management experience in the Armed Forces, and we want to train these people so they can become the railway’s personnel reserve," Pertsovsky said.

These EUR 3 million will fund a new training center and a veteran reintegration center at the UZ Academy, which will provide 1,000 to 1,200 employees annually with skills needed in the market: masters, depot heads, and chiefs of distance, signaling, power supply, or track units. The grant will allow for the installation of simulators and the preparation of classrooms.

The UZ head noted that the company will implement all three programs in parallel. Construction of the platform at Kyiv Central Station is already underway, with completion planned for this year.

"Currently, there are issues with the supply of elevators, escalators, and this equipment in general. Because this is EBRD funding, they are purchased according to the bank’s high standards and rules," Pertsovsky added.

Regarding training, the company has already selected a location and preparatory work is underway.

"We have an internal unit that handles employee training; it is based on that. We interact very closely with German universities and vocational schools that focus specifically on the railway industry," the UZ chairman said.