Transport in Ukraine

This article is about transport in Ukraine. For transport in the Soviet Union, see Transport in the Soviet Union.

All transportation in Ukraine except for automobile transportation is regulated by the Ministry of Infrastructure, formerly the united Ministry of Transportation and Communications. The automobile transportation is regulated by the State Automobile Inspection (DAI) of the Ministry of Interior. The Ministry of Infrastructure includes several transportation and communication related administrations and inspections that supervise various specialized state companies. The public transportation within cities are regulated by their local administrations which are appointed by the President of Ukraine, while submitting their reports to the related ministries of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Some of the non-military transportation is also regulated by the special State Space Agency of Ukraine (DKAU). The energy-related transportation such as a pipeline gas is regulated by the Ministry of Fuel and Energy.

The share of transport in the economy of Ukraine

The share of the transport sector in Ukraine's gross domestic product (according to Goskomstat) as of 2009 was 11.3%. The number of workers employed in the sector is almost 7% of total employment. The transportation infrastructure of Ukraine is adequately developed overall, however it is obsolete and in need of major modernization. A remarkable boost in the recent development of the country's transportation infrastructure was noticed after winning the right to host a major continental sport event the UEFA Euro 2012.

The advantageous geographical position of Ukraine allows for the location of a number of International Transport Corridors on its territory, in particular :

• Pan-European transport corridors № 3, 5, 7, 9;
• Rail Co-Operation Corridors (ORC) № 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 and
• European Transport Corridors - Caucasus - Asia (TRACECA) and Europe - Asia.

Recent perspective

In 2009, Ukrainian infrastructure provided for the transportation of 1.5 billion tons of cargo and 7.3 billion passengers. As the global financial crisis took hold and demand for major export commodities in 2009 fell, the volume of freight traffic decreased by 17,6% when compared with figures from 2008; passenger transport fell by 12,7%.

Today the transport sector in Ukraine generally meets only the basic needs of the economy and population. The level of safety, quality and efficiency of passenger and freight transport, as well as the infrastructure's amount of energy usage, and the technological burden it places on the environment do not meet modern-day requirements.

Due to the low level of demand, the country's existing transit potential and advantageous geographical position is not fully utilised. There is thus a lag in the development of transport infrastructure, transport and logistics technologies and multimodal transport. All this has made Ukraine uncompetitive as the high costs of transport across the country make the cost of production in the country uncommonly high.

Freight and Passenger Transportation Statistics

	Transported tons of freights	Freight kilometres (thousand)	Transported passengers (thousand)	Passenger kilometres (thousand)
2000	938 916,1	19 281 619,3	2603 804,6	29 381 541.2
2002	947 263,8	20 593 133,1	3069 136,3	35 812 231.1
2004	1027 396,3	28 847 143,4	3720 326,4	47 490 401.3
2006	1167 199,6	40 566 469,9	3987 982,2	53 981 705.3
2008	1266 598,1	54 877 223,3	4369 125,5	61 302 884.5

Railways

A branded train, the Kiev-Dnipropetrovsk 'Capital Express'

Roofed platforms at Lviv Passenger Station

Passenger terminal at Odessa station.

Main article: Ukrainian Railways

The railways are managed by a state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia which also is a state agency. Note that industrial railways and metros in cities are managed locally on a regional level.

The length of the railway network Ukraine ranks third in Europe (21.7 thousand kilometres of railways).

Ukrainian trains and tarckway are incapable of speeds more than 160 kilometers per hour. as the number of railway passengers and freight climbs, the country expects to see a significant improvement in the quality of railway transport. In addition, the government expects to make huge investments in the railways in preparation for Euro 2012. However, there is currently not enough line capacity provided on routes to the south and the Crimea.

Network length: (2010)

• 22,000 km (13,670 mi) broad gauge of 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in), ~10,000 km (6,214 mi) electrified (3 kV DC and 25 kV AC)
• 201 km (125 mi) of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge, electrified

Rail links with adjacent countries

• Belarus
• Russia
• Moldova
• Romania (break-of-gauge: 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) / 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in))
• Hungary (break-of-gauge: 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) / 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in))
• Slovakia (break-of-gauge: 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) / 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in))
• Poland (break-of-gauge: 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) / 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) plus a standard gauge cross-border cargo line)

Maps

There is also a network of suburban and regional train routes for type of local transportation connecting smaller settlements with big cities.

Highways

Main article: Roads in Ukraine

Road network in Ukraine

A section of the Kharkiv - Dnipropetrovsk motorway

The development of public roads in Ukraine is currently lagging behind the pace of motorisation in the country. During 1990-2010 the length of the highways network hardly increased at all. The density of highways in Ukraine is 6.6 times lower than in France (respectively 0.28 and 1.84 kilometres of roads per square kilometre area of the country). The length of express roads in Ukraine is 0.28 thousand km (in Germany - 12.5 thousand kilometres in France - 7.1 thousand kilometres), and the level of funding for each kilometre of road in Ukraine is around 5,5 - 6 times less than in those locations.

This is due to a number of objective reasons, including that the burden of maintaining the transport network per capita is significantly higher than in European countries because of Ukraine's relatively low population density (76 people per square kilometre), low purchasing power of citizens (1/5 of the Eurozone's purchasing capacity), relatively low car ownership and a the nation's large territory.

The operational condition of roads is very poor; around 51.1% of roads do not meet minimum standards, and 39.2% require major rebuilds. The average speed on roads in Ukraine 2 - 3 times lower than in Western countries.

• Total: 169,477 km
• Paved: 164,732 km (102,360 mi) (including 15 km (9 mi) of expressways); note - these roads, classified as "hard-surfaced", include both hard-paved highways and some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads.
• Unpaved: 4,745 km (2,948 mi) (2004)

File:5.1 (Road sign).gif

Motorways in Ukraine, 193 km (120 mi) (2010):

Kiev - Boryspil | Kharkiv - Dnipropetrovsk

File:5.3 (Road sign).gif

State Highways, 8,080 km (5,020 mi) (2009):

M01 | M02 | M03 | M04 | M05 | M06 | M07 | M08 | M09 | M10 | M11 | M12 | M13 | M14 | M15 | M16 | M17 | M18 | M19 | M20 | M21 | M22 | M23

Note: State highways are important national routes and are not necessarily high-speed roads

Aviation

A Boeing 737 of UIA, one of Ukraine's flag carriers, on stand at Frankfurt (Main) International Airport

Terminal 'B' at Boryspil Airport, Kiev

The aviation section in Ukraine is developing very quickly, having recently established a visa-free program for EU nationals and citizens of a number of other 'Western' nations, the nation's aviation sector is handling a significantly increased number of travellers. Additionally, the granting of the Euro 2012 football tournament to Poland and Ukraine as joint hosts has prompted the government to invest huge amounts of money into transport infrastructure, and in particular airports.

Currently there are three major new airport terminals under construction in Donetsk, Lviv and Kiev, a new airport has already opened in Kharkiv and Kiev's Boryspil International Airport has recently begun operations at Terminal F, the first of its two new international terminals. Ukraine has a number of airlines, the largest of which are the nation's flag carriers, Aerosvit and UIA. Antonov Airlines, a subsidiary of the Antonov Aerospace Design Bureau is the only operator of the world's largest fixed wing aircraft, the An-225.

Airports

See also: List of airports in Ukraine

• Total: 437 (2007)

Airports with paved runways

• Total: 193
• Over 3,047 m: 13
• 2,438 to 3,047 m: 53
• 1,524 to 2,437 m: 27
• 914 to 1,523 m: 5
• Under 914 m: 95 (2007)

Major airports are: Boryspil Airport, Dnipropetrovsk Airport, Donetsk Airport, Odessa Airport, and Simferopol Airport.

Airports with unpaved runways

• Total: 244
• 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
• 1,524 to 2,437 m: 11
• 914 to 1,523 m: 13
• Under 914 m: 217 (2007)

Waterways

Passenger terminal of the Kiev River Port.

Leasure riverboat in Kiev.

4,400 km (2,734 mi) navigable waterways on 7 rivers, most of them are on Danube, Dnieper and Pripyat rivers. All Ukraine's rivers freeze over in winter (usually December through March), interrupting navigation.

Danube

The most important waterway of Ukraine.

Notable riverports on Danube

Located on the Danube river these ports are serviced by the Ukrainian Danube Ship State Company. Each port is also a separate legal entity and are governed by the Ukrmorrichflot, the Ukrainian administration for any water transportation.

• Izmail
• Reni
• Vylkove

Dnieper

Dnieper within Ukraine is a regulated system of reservoirs separated by dams with shiplocks. The river is navigable through all its Ukrainian length.

Notable riverports on Dnieper

• Cherkasy
• Dnipropetrovsk
• Kakhovka
• Kremenchuk
• Kiev River Terminal
• Nikopol
• Zaporizhzhia

Pripyat

Notable riverport Chernobyl is now abandoned due to the Chernobyl disaster, but the waterway retains its importance as part of Dnieper–Baltic Sea route.

Merchant marine

• Total: 193 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 862,690 GRT/963,550 t DWT
• Ships by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo ship 145, container ship 3, passenger ship 6, passenger/cargo ship 4, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo ship 11, roll-on/roll-off 7, specialized tanker 2 (2007)

Ports and harbours

Major seaports

• Berdyansk (Sea of Azov)
• Illichivsk (Black Sea) (Ukrferry: Odessa — Istanbul / Haifa / Varna)
• Kerch (Black Sea) (Port Krym located in a close proximity)
• Mariupol (Sea of Azov)
• Mykolayiv (Black Sea)
• Port of Odessa (Black Sea)
• Sevastopol (Black Sea)
• Skadovsk (Black Sea) (part of Skadovsk seaport are also the Port Khorly and Port Henichesk)
• Theodosia (Black Sea)
• Yalta (Black Sea)
• Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky Seaport (Black Sea) (part of Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky seaport is also the Port Buhaz located in Zatoka)

Other notable seaports

• Donuzlav (Black Sea)
• Chornomorske (Black Sea)
• Kherson (Black Sea)
• Ochakiv (Black Sea)
• Yevpatoria (Black Sea)
• Yuzhny (Black Sea)

Pipelines

See also: Russia–Ukraine gas disputes

• natural gas 33,721 km (20,953 mi) (2007)
• crude oil 4,514 km (2,805 mi) (2007)
• petroleum products 4,211 km (2,617 mi) (2007)
• ammonia

The natural gas transport-system can take in a maximum of 288 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. Its annual output capacity is 178.5 billion cubic meters, including 142.2 billion to be forwarded to European countries.

See also

• Ukraine
• Ukrainian Railways
• Kiev Passenger Railway Station