Most Passenger Routes in Ukraine Unprofitable, Says State Railway Ukrzaliznytsia

Most passenger routes operating between Ukrainian cities are unprofitable, according to Oleksandr Pertsovsky, chairman of state-owned railway Ukrzaliznytsia, on Friday.

Pertsovsky said calculations discovered 56 out of 98 routes being “deeply unprofitable” but hinted at no plans to scrap the routes for the time being.

“We calculate in detail the loss and profitability of each train. It turns out that out of 98 flights that run across the country, 56 are deeply unprofitable due to the specifics of social routes, the use of diesel locomotives, etc,” Pertsovsky said during a conversation with journalists, according to state media Ukrinform.

“In fact, without the resource to cover losses, most of them would have been canceled,” he added.

Pertsovsky said freight-cargo revenues largely covered the spending before Moscow’s 2022 invasion, which he said is also affected by the war.

Data from the State Statistics Service shows that rail transport between January and August 2025 dropped by 8.6% to 120.6 million metric tons compared to the same period a year prior, according to business outlet Open4Business.

Pertsovsky called for more state funding to support the company, as in Europe, while the company also works on internal optimization to cut costs and explore revenue streams.

The Ukrainian government is set to provide Ukrzaliznytsia with Hr.16 billion ($381 million) in 2026, according to Ukinform, citing statements from Prime Minister Yuliia Syvrydenko earlier this week.

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