Photo from UNIAN
Wojciech Balczun, CEO of Ukrzaliznytsia, the operator of the Ukrainian railways, has announced the launch of a new, high-speed train with transformer carriages between Kyiv and the west Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk on Tuesday, January 17.
The No. 149 Night Express train will feature carriages that could be transformed from sleeping cars to coaches with seating, he wrote on Facebook on Sunday, January 15.
Read alsoUkraine Infrastructure Ministry approves increase in railway tariffs"We got these new carriages with transformable furniture in late December last year, passengers can be transported both in coaches with seating and sleeping cars. This will greatly improve the comfort and efficiency of transportation," Balczun wrote.
"Travelling by this particular train, passengers will be able to save time: it will take less than nine hours instead of the current 11+ hours to get to Ivano-Frankivsk," he wrote.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrzaliznytsia plans to launch a new direct route to Poland after a high-speed Intercity+ train started running between Kyiv, Lviv and Poland's Przemysl on December 23, 2016.
"Our next plans include a train to Chelm, where a Ukrainian-standard 1520mm-wide gauge is available. Other European destinations are also being considered, in particular, the Baltic states are our medium-term plans," Ukrzaliznytsia Director for passenger transportation and services Ihor Romankiv said.
Infrastructure is a major bottleneck in Ukrainian expansion of routes in Eastern Europe, as there are not many stations in Poland and neighboring countries with 1520mm gauge railways used in the post-Soviet territory.