The travel time of trains going to Crimea and back could be increased by two or three hours on average due to checks by the State Border Service of Ukraine and so-called Crimean self-defense forces, the press service of the State Administration of Ukraine (Ukrzaliznytsia) has reported.

The press service said that the trains to Crimea were not canceled. All trains are departing from their initial stations according to schedule.

"In the conditions of the unstable situation in the country, the State Border Service of Ukraine conducts checks of trains at Vadym, Kherson, Melitopol and Ilovaisk stations, which results in delays to trains. The so-called Crimean self-defense forces checks trains at Dzhankoi station, and the trains are delayed by up to one hour on average," the administration said.

Ukrzaliznytsia foresees 40-minute stops for checks of trains by the State Border Service of Ukraine in the train schedule for 2014-2015.

Coordinator of the transport sector reformation at the Coordination Center for the Introduction of Economic Reforms, Oleksandr Kava, said that due to the fact that today the said stops are not foreseen, checks of trains result in the delay of Crimean trains, which affects the movement of other trains.

"In addition, it would be good to discuss an option for non-stop passing passenger trains from Russia to Crimea. This would prevent Ukrzaliznytsia losing revenues and profits," he said.