Passenger traffic for Ukrzaliznytsia fell by 10%, and the company's losses are growing

Occupancy of Ukrzaliznytsia passenger trains has fallen below 60% versus the company's expected roughly 70%. Some passengers, because of air threats and possible evacuations during trips, choose buses and cars instead, reducing the railway's revenues.

This was reported by Dilo on

the basis of an interview

with Ukrzaliznytsia supervisory board deputy chair Serhiy Leshchenko on the air of

“Vechir.LIVE”.

According to Leshchenko, Ukrzaliznytsia had calculated that the average

train occupancy during this period would be around 70%, but the actual

figure fell below 60%.

He named heightened air threats as one of the reasons.

Some passengers are not ready for possible train stops and evacuations and

instead choose road or bus transport.

At the same time, trains do not stop automatically after an air alarm is announced.

Each service is monitored by specialists in the situation center who

take into account the train’s route and the movement of aerial targets.

If the trajectories of a train and, for example, an attacking drone could

dangerously converge, movement is halted and passengers are evacuated to a safe place.

Leshchenko said the reduction in passenger numbers

directly affects Ukrzaliznytsia’s revenues and could further worsen its

financial position.

The company’s financial situation is already difficult. In 2026

the year, Ukrzaliznytsia, according to government calculations, will be loss-making under all scenarios,

and from October the company began cutting personnel costs by at least 200

million UAH per month.