Train ticket prices will rise — Serhiy Leshchenko

In Ukraine, the cost of railway tickets will increase. Ukrzaliznytsia is preparing to raise prices for first-class passengers on 'Intercity' trains and SV carriages in order to increase its own revenues. This was reported by Supervisory Board member Serhiy Leshchenko during a speech in the Verkhovna Rada, writes 'Glavred'.

«We plan to raise dynamic pricing for SV-class carriages and first-class 'Intercity'. This is a partial improvement of the result, but not completely», — noted Leshchenko.

According to him, in the first nine months of 2025, the company's net loss was 7.1 billion UAH, and losses from passenger transport in 2024 reached 18 billion UAH.

Why ticket prices are increasing

Earlier, freight transportation compensated for losses in passenger directions, but this mechanism has been destroyed due to the war. From 2021 to 2025, Ukraine lost almost half of its freight traffic. The most affected were the coal industry of Donetsk and enrichment plants that stopped due to hostilities.

To stabilize its financial situation, Ukrzaliznytsia plans several steps:

• sale of scrap metal, which may bring up to 10 billion UAH;

• state funding of 16 billion UAH to compensate for losses from passenger flights;

• indexing freight rates in two stages — first by 27%, then by 11%. This may provide about 22 billion UAH.

What will happen to the 'UZ-3000' program

At the same time, the government is preparing the 'UZ-3000' program, which will allow Ukrainians to travel for free up to 3000 km within the country. It will be funded from empty seats during the off-peak season and the increase in prices for the premium segment.

UZ Chairman Oleksandr Pertzovsky emphasized that the implementation of the program will not require additional budget funds. However, free tickets will not be valid for first-class, SV, and international routes, for which dynamic pricing will be introduced instead.