The project will connect Lviv to the EU’s high-speed rail network, with construction possibly starting by the end of 2025.
The European Union has approved a €76 million grant to support the construction of a European-standard 1,435 mm railway line between Lviv and the Polish border, Ukraine’s Minister of Communities and Territories Development, Oleksii Kuleba, announced this week.
The funding comes through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) — the EU’s flagship transport infrastructure program — and will cover 50% of the project’s total estimated cost of €200 million.
Lviv to Become the Next Euro-Gauge Hub After Uzhhorod
The new section, to be built in two phases, will stretch 78 kilometers and run from the border town of Mostyska through Sknyliv, and eventually to Lviv’s main railway station.
At first, plans envisioned stopping the Euro-gauge line at Sknyliv — the location of Lviv Danylo Halytskyi International Airport — with the idea of turning it into a major transport hub. But recent developments have taken the plan a step further.
Lviv’s Urban Development Institute has proposed technical solutions to extend the Euro-gauge line directly to the city’s central station — long considered logistically impossible.
Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia) has officially approved the plan, with construction potentially starting by late 2025.
Revamping Lviv’s Rail Infrastructure for the Future
The British firm Building Design Partnership Ltd, supported by the UK government, is now designing a comprehensive transportation hub for Lviv, integrating the new rail lines with urban mobility.
According to Deputy Mayor Serhiy Kiral, the transformation goes beyond just laying track:
The Sknyliv area will become a freight logistics center
The main Lviv station will undergo a spatial redevelopment
The Pidzamche neighborhood, near the UNBROKEN rehabilitation center, is also being positioned as a key rail junction
These moves aim to modernize western Ukraine’s transport landscape and enhance cross-border rail connectivity.
Why It Matters
With Lviv on track to become the second Ukrainian city — after Uzhhorod — to host a European-gauge railway, Ukraine is accelerating its integration with the EU transport system.
The new connection will:
Enable direct rail service between Lviv and EU cities
Eliminate gauge-change delays at the border
Support economic ties and mobility between Ukraine and Europe
This is part of a larger vision to bring Ukraine closer to Europe — not just politically, but physically.
Construction is expected to begin later this year.
