Ukraine and Spain have signed two important agreements that involve the joint development of an innovative technology for the automatic change of wheelset gauges for different railway standards, as well as securing grant funding for this project.
This is reported by Finway
Funding and Partnership for Railway Modernization
The signing of the documents took place during the official visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Spain. As part of the agreements reached between Zelensky and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Ukraine will receive funds for the implementation of the infrastructure project – the total budget of the agreements amounts to 200 million euros. In this context, Ukrzaliznytsia has become the first Ukrainian company to receive funding for the modernization of railway infrastructure within this cooperation.
“Ukrzaliznytsia has become the first Ukrainian company to be allocated funds for the implementation of the infrastructure project under the agreements between the President of Ukraine and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for 200 million euros, reached during a previous visit to Madrid,” the statement reads
Innovative Technology for Accelerating Logistics
Within the framework of the joint project, Ukrzaliznytsia will collaborate with the Spanish engineering company TRIA and the national railway infrastructure operator of Spain, Adif. The main goal is to develop a modern freight wagon bogie that will allow for the automatic change of gauge from 1520 mm to 1435 mm. This technology will enable trains to cross the border between Ukraine and the EU without stops, avoiding the need for cargo transloading or bogie replacement, significantly reducing time and logistics costs.
Currently, different gauge standards are used at the border between Ukraine and EU countries, complicating the movement of freight trains. The introduction of the new system will allow for flexible adaptation of rolling stock to European routes. In Spain, a similar technology is already successfully applied on 1435 mm and 1668 mm tracks, while in Ukraine it is applied on 1520 mm and 1435 mm tracks.
The project is funded by a grant of 5.48 million euros provided by the Spanish side through the Instituto de Crédito Oficial as part of the state fund FIEM, which supports international projects involving Spanish companies.
Ukrzaliznytsia emphasizes that the implementation of this initiative opens new opportunities for attracting Spanish businesses to the modernization of Ukrainian infrastructure and deepening cooperation between enterprises of both countries.