Fast Track to Europe: EU Finances €73.7 Mn Rail Link Connecting Ukraine & Poland
Ukraine has received a €73.7 million grant from the European Union to build a European-standard railway line between Sknyliv and Mostyska, strengthening the country’s transport integration with the EU.
The Gaze reports this, referring to Ukrinform.
The grant agreement, part of the 2024 Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) competition, was formally handed over in Uzhhorod during a ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration Oleksiy Kuleba and Magda Kopczyńska, Director-General for Mobility and Transport at the European Commission (DG MOVE).
According to Kuleba, the project will establish a 1,435-mm gauge railway linking the Polish border to Sknyliv near Lviv, fully compatible with the EU’s Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).
“We aim to complete 70 kilometers of the European-gauge line by the end of 2027,” he said, noting that Ukraine will co-finance the initiative through its state budget.
The financing model foresees equal contributions from the European Commission and Ukraine. Kuleba emphasized that the project is part of a broader effort to deepen Ukraine’s physical and economic ties with the EU.
“This is about removing the remaining barriers between Ukraine and the European Union,” he said. “It’s a tangible step in our path toward EU membership.”
The Mostyska–Sknyliv segment is the first of four projects planned under the European-Gauge Mostyska–Lviv corridor. It follows the recent opening of the Uzhhorod–Chop European-gauge line in September 2025, which now enables direct passenger services from Ukraine to Budapest, Vienna, and Bratislava without transfers.
The new railway is expected to boost cross-border trade, improve logistics for Ukrainian exports, and align the nation’s transport infrastructure with EU standards as part of the country’s broader integration and reconstruction strategy.
As The Gaze previously reported, Ukraine has received a new €46.1 million loan tranche from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support urban renewal and infrastructure modernization across the country.
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