Ukrzaliznytsia Orders 92 Passenger Cars from Kriukiv by 2028

KYIV, Ukraine – Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) has contracted Kriukiv Carriage Works (KVBZ) for the supply of 92 newly manufactured passenger railcars, with deliveries scheduled for 2027–2028. The agreement was signed by KVBZ director Maksym Kramarenko and Oleh Holovashchenko, director of UZ’s Passenger Company subsidiary. The order extends a national renewal programme under which Ukrzaliznytsia has already contracted 358 passenger cars, 187 of which are in commercial service.

What Does This Contract Cover?

The contract commits KVBZ to manufacture and deliver 92 passenger cars, with components sourced largely from Ukrainian railway industry suppliers. The order is framed by UZ as a resilience measure because Russian strikes have repeatedly targeted rolling stock and rail infrastructure, while a substantial share of the active fleet is beyond its normal economic life. Prior to this agreement, the programme had delivered a 21-car batch produced with the involvement of 166 Ukrainian companies, and the first 10 new-generation KVBZ cars delivered in 2026 introduced longer sleeping berths for overnight services (Source: UA.News, 2026).

Key Contract Data

How Does This Compare to Similar Contracts?

Ukrzaliznytsia’s passenger-car order shares its delivery window with a 55-locomotive contract awarded to Alstom for Ukrainian Railways, with first deliveries from 2027 backed by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and World Bank financing (Source: Alstom, 2025). At the ₴65m average cost established by Ukraine’s 100-car rolling-stock programme, the 92 cars would carry an implied value of roughly ₴6.0bn (Source: Mezha, 2026). By comparison, Alstom’s five-year operations-and-maintenance contract with Metrolinx in Ontario is valued at approximately €800m and runs until 2031, reflecting a price structure that covers full service delivery rather than vehicle supply alone (Source: Alstom, 2025). Comparable tender data for other Ukrainian passenger-car batches was not publicly available at the time of publication.

Editor’s Analysis

Ukrzaliznytsia is using wartime contract awards to hold domestic rolling-stock engineering capacity and employment in place ahead of a post-war network reset. The 2027–2028 delivery convergence of 92 KVBZ cars and 55 Alstom locomotives points to a deliberately staged fleet replacement programme, but the absence of a disclosed funding source for the passenger-car deal makes it difficult to verify whether the order is fully backed by state budget or donor capital. This contract nonetheless aligns with a broader regional investment cycle in rail connectivity, including EU-backed Middle Corridor infrastructure work that assumes Ukraine will gradually re-enter east–west supply chains after the war (Source: Trends Group, 2025).

FAQ

Q: How many passenger cars has Ukrzaliznytsia now ordered under its modernisation programme?
A: Ukrzaliznytsia had contracted 358 cars under the national programme, 187 of which are in commercial service, before signing the new agreement for a further 92 cars. The operator has not disclosed whether the 358 figure already included this latest batch, so the confirmed pipeline stands at either 358 or 450 cars.

Q: Why is Ukraine investing in new passenger railcars while the war continues?
A: Ukrzaliznytsia treats new rolling stock as a resilience measure because Russian attacks have repeatedly damaged railcars and railway infrastructure, reducing the margin for equipment failures. Newer cars also help compensate for a fleet whose average age exceeds 35 years and which is increasingly expensive to keep in safe operation.

Q: Who is financing the 92-car contract?
A: The contract value and financing structure were not disclosed by Ukrzaliznytsia or Kriukiv Carriage Works. If the ₴6.5bn benchmark for 100 cars is applied, the order would represent roughly ₴6.0bn of procurement (Source: Mezha, 2026).