11 new routes and hourly service between Lviv and Kyiv: new train schedule to be launched in December

In Ukraine, a new train schedule will come into effect in December - 11 new routes will appear, and hourly railway traffic between Lviv and Kyiv will be introduced, Ukrzaliznytsia JSC reported on Thursday, writes UNN.

In the new schedule for 2025-2026, which will start on December 14, Ukrzaliznytsia presented a number of new interesting connections and significant improvements to existing routes. In particular, 8 new international connections and 3 domestic ones will appear at once

In the new timetable for 2026, which will come into effect on December 14 this year, Ukrzaliznytsia is introducing scheduled traffic between Kyiv and Lviv.

This means that on the most popular route Kyiv - Lviv - Kyiv, trains will run on a stable and repetitive schedule - every hour. The vast majority of trains will run year-round with a few exceptions for the "off-peak" period.

Other key updates in domestic communication:

• new train No. 47/48 (Kramatorsk) Barvinkove - Chop. A new train for residents of the frontline Donetsk region, which currently maintains multimodal (with the involvement of buses for the “last mile”) connection with the rest of Ukraine. While Barvinkove in Kharkiv region is a temporary final stop for trains, Ukrzaliznytsia offers an additional route for the region, which will help to quickly reach rehabilitation and recovery centers in the Carpathians (Skole, Slavske), Transcarpathia (Perechyn, Mukachevo) and the international hub in Chop, from where transfers to European routes are possible;
• new train No. 33/34 Kryvyi Rih - Ivano-Frankivsk. The new route will connect the central regions with Prykarpattia and "ensure a comfortable journey to tourist locations in western Ukraine";
• updated route of train No. 113/114 Kharkiv - Uzhhorod. The historical “Bakhmut” route, which is an indispensable train of social importance for Polissia and Volyn, is extended to Transcarpathia. This route should be considered primarily as an opportunity for residents of Zhytomyr, Olevsk, Sarny, Rafalivka and other cities along the route to travel to the mountains (Slavske) and Transcarpathia (Uzhhorod), while maintaining a reliable connection with Sumy and Kharkiv regions.

"It is worth noting separately that in the direction of mountain rehabilitation centers and resorts, more than 40 routes have already been laid in the new schedule, more than half of which are from frontline regions," the UZ noted.

On a permanent basis, as reported, the regional train Lviv - Vorokhta will run, which is operated by a modern diesel train DPKr-3. This route, as noted, has proven its demand for Lviv residents and will help create a high-quality transfer alternative for passengers from other regions during the peak Bukovel season.

In general, UZ announces "new circulating routes, quality accelerations, more thoroughly thought-out connections" in the new schedule. It is planned to increase the offer of seats during peak periods by 20% and to offer +2 million seats in total per year.

Ticket sales for the new schedule for dates after December 14 are already open on the Ukrzaliznytsia application and website.

Addition

In total, in less than 11 months of this year, Ukrzaliznytsia has already transported more than 25 million passengers, almost half a million more than last year. in July-August, UZ tested a model of additional transportation by using daytime circulating trains in between their "main" routes. The result: on peak days, more than 7,000 additional seats per day were provided, which formed the basis of the planning for 2026, UZ noted.