Ukrzaliznytsia is to receive a grant from Spain for technology enabling the rapid conversion of carriages to the European gauge

This has been reported by Ukrzaliznytsia.

The first project under the Spanish grant programme for the modernisation of Ukrainian infrastructure will be a railway solution designed to speed up exports to the European Union. Ukraine and Spain have signed two agreements – one on the joint development of technology for automatically adjusting the width of wheel sets to suit different track gauges, and the other on the funding of this project.

The documents were signed during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Spain.

Ukrzaliznytsia has become the first Ukrainian company to receive funding for an infrastructure project under the agreements between the President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez. This involves a €200 million package agreed during a previous visit to Madrid.

As part of the new project, Ukrzaliznytsia, together with the Spanish engineering company TRIA and Spain’s national railway infrastructure operator Adif, will develop an innovative bogie for freight wagons. Its key feature is the automatic adjustment of the track gauge from 1,520 mm to 1,435 mm.

Currently, when crossing the border between Ukraine and the EU, trains are forced to stop to reload cargo or change bogies due to the different track gauges. The new technology is set to eliminate this delay: carriages will be able to switch from one track to another without stopping, which will reduce border crossing times and cut logistics costs.

Ukrzaliznytsia notes that Spain has been using similar technology for many years. It is now planned to adapt and test it on Ukrainian-European routes. The statement specifically notes that different railway track standards are in use in both Spain and Ukraine: in Ukraine – 1,520 mm and 1,435 mm, and in Spain – 1,435 mm and 1,668 mm.

The Spanish side is providing a grant of €5.48 million for the implementation of this project. The funds will be administered by the Instituto de Crédito Oficial, a Spanish state financial institution.

The funding is provided on a non-repayable basis through the FIEM state fund, which supports international projects involving Spanish companies.

Ukrzaliznytsia believes that this project creates additional opportunities to involve Spanish businesses in the modernisation of Ukrainian infrastructure in cooperation with Ukrainian enterprises.

As a reminder, a deadly evacuation took place on the Odesa railway due to the threat of enemy UAVs