Passenger trains to be introduced between Kyiv and Bucharest; a test run to take place this week

A train between Bucharest and Kyiv will be put into service in the coming period, State Secretary with the Ministry of Transport Ionel Scriosteanu stated on Tuesday.

Within a bilateral meeting between Romania and Ukraine which was held in Darabani city, Botosani county, Scriosteanu stated that the direct rail connection between Kyiv and Bucharest will pass through the Republic of Moldova, with four passenger cars from the Ukrainian railway company being attached to the Chisinau-Bucharest train.

"We have three proposals from Ukraine regarding a railway link between Ukraine and Romania. One, which is the most advanced is to attach four carriages to the Chisinau-Bucharest train. It is also the easiest to implement. Ukraine would need to send four passenger cars to be coupled with the Bucharest train and for that we are ready to carry out the first tests in a few days," Scriosteanu stated.

The first test run between Kyiv and Bucharest, and back, will take place this week. On the night of August 7 to 8, the train will depart from Kyiv, and on the night of August 8 to 9, it will travel from Bucharest to Kyiv via Chisinau. The test run will be conducted with two carriages without passengers.

The Romania-Ukraine bilateral meeting was attended by Romania's Ambassador to Kyiv Victor Micula, Ukraine's Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories, railway officials from both countries, national road administrators and border police representatives.

In the first seven months of this year, approximately 16,000 buses entered Romania from Ukraine.

Approximately 16,000 buses entered Romania from Ukraine in the first seven months of this year, Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine Serhiy Derkach stated in Darabani.

"As you know, our airports are not operational, so we are using buses. We counted and, in the last seven months, 16,000 buses have entered Romania from us. This is a very high number. Last year, we saw an increase as well, but there were only 12,500. We are only talking about the entries into Romania," the Ukrainian official stated.

He believes these figures highlight the need for the development of alternative transport, especially rail transport.

"It's about a large number of people who would like to travel to Romania by rail. (...) If rail transport is used, it will also clear the border crossing points and the roads," he added.

The statement of the Deputy Minister for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine was made at the Romania-Ukraine bilateral meeting in Darabani, where the introduction of a direct passenger train between Kyiv and Bucharest was also announced.