Key points
- Ukraine and Spain are launching a joint project – freight trains with automatic gauge change.
- The technology allows trains to travel between Ukrainian and European tracks without stopping.
- Previously, cargo had to be reloaded or bogies changed at the border, which increased both time and costs.
- The project is being implemented by Ukrzaliznytsia in collaboration with the Spanish companies TRIA and Adif.
- A grant of €5.48 million has been allocated to the project by the Spanish government through the ICO as part of the FIEM fund.
Ukraine and Spain to launch joint infrastructure project allowing freight trains to cross the EU border without stops. The cooperation agreements were signed during President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to Spain.
The project involves implementing variable gauge technology – a key barrier to fast railway logistics.
In Ukraine, the standard track gauge is 1,520 mm, while most EU countries use 1,435 mm. Previously, trains had to stop at the border to either transfer cargo or change bogies, which increased transit time and transportation costs.
The new technology will allow wagons to automatically “switch” between different track gauges while in motion, without stopping. This will ensure faster border crossings, lower costs, and greater capacity.
The project is being implemented by Ukrzaliznytsia together with the Spanish engineering company TRIA and Spain’s national infrastructure operator Adif.
Spain has experience with such solutions, as the country uses track gauges of 1,435 mm and 1,668 mm. The technology will be adapted for Ukrainian–European routes.
A grant of €5.48 million has been allocated for the project by the Spanish government through the state financial institution Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) under the FIEM fund.
This is the first infrastructure project by Ukrzaliznytsia implemented under the agreements between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez worth €200 million.
Read also:
This winter, around 30,000 Ukrainians made use of Ukrzaliznytsia’s “resilience carriages”
