Negulevsky: The government plans to divide Ukrzaliznytsia into parts – passenger transportation separately, freight transportation separately
10 November 12:26
EXCLUSIVE
The government is preparing legislative changes that would see Ukrzaliznytsia split into several separate companies. Ihor Negulevsky, MP and member of the Verkhovna Rada’s Transport Committee, told reporters in a commentary to [comersant ].
“We will divide Ukrzaliznytsia into several parts. It will be separate passenger transportation, separate freight transportation and a separate company,” Negulevsky said.
According to him, the new management model should be enshrined in the future law on Ukrzaliznytsia. First, the so-called “small framework” law will be adopted, and later a broader document will be adopted that will finally define the company’s structure.
In fact, it is a preparation for the unbundling of the state monopoly’s assets, which opens up the possibility of further partial privatization or involvement of private operators in certain areas of activity.
“We want there to be no questions later on about how the passenger balanced her finances. These will be separate companies to understand where the debit and credit are,” the MP explained.
He acknowledged that the company’s current situation remains difficult: the war, the destruction of infrastructure and the loss of customers in the East have sharply reduced the railroad’s cargo traffic and revenues.
“We had many major customers from the East, but now they are gone. We lost a large volume of cargo because of the war,” he said.
Negulevsky also supported the idea of raising tariffs for freight transportation by up to 40% “to make this area at least profitable.”
At the same time, business and industrialists mostly criticize such intentions of the current top management of UZ.
The politician admits that, one way or another, passenger transportation will still remain unprofitable and will have to be financed by the state. He says this is exactly what happens in most European countries.
“Deutsche Bahn, for example, in 2024 even financed freight transportation from the German budget. Not to mention passenger transportation,” he said.
Thus, according to the MP, the reform of UZ should turn the company into several independent structures with transparent financial reporting.
However, in practice, such a model could open the way to the sale or concession of certain profitable areas, primarily the freight business, while unprofitable passenger transportation would logically fall on the shoulders of taxpayers.
During his report to the Verkhovna Rada, Serhiy Leshchenko, a member of the Supervisory Board of Ukrzaliznytsia, emphasized that all of Ukrzaliznytsia’s resources have been exhausted and the company’s financial situation is becoming critical. If the situation does not change, the Ukrainian railroad may come to a complete standstill.
He said that in the first nine months of 2025, the company’s net losses amounted to UAH 7.19 billion, and without government support, the situation could become critical.
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