Ukrzaliznytsia raises ticket prices for Intercity: who will be affected.

According to inkorr.com: In Ukraine, the cost of train tickets will soon rise. The company Ukrzaliznytsia plans to increase ticket prices for 1st class passengers of the "Intercity" trains and SV cars in order to improve its financial indicators. This was announced by a member of the supervisory board of Ukrzaliznytsia, Serhiy Leshchenko, during a speech in the Verkhovna Rada.

"We plan to introduce dynamic pricing for SV class cars and 1st class 'Intercity'. This is a partial improvement of the situation, but not completely," said Leshchenko.

Serhiy Leshchenko also reported that over the nine months of 2025, the company's net loss amounted to 7.1 billion UAH, while in 2024, losses from passenger transportation reached 18 billion UAH.

Why ticket prices are increasing

Earlier, freight transport compensated for losses from passenger routes, but due to the war, this mechanism ceased to operate. From 2021 to 2025, Ukraine lost almost half of its freight traffic. The coal industry of Donetsk and the mining and processing plants, which halted due to military actions, were the hardest hit.

To improve its financial situation, Ukrzaliznytsia plans to take several measures:

• sale of scrap metal, which could bring up to 10 billion UAH;
• receiving state funding of 16 billion UAH to compensate for losses from passenger flights;
• indexation of freight tariffs in two stages — first by 27%, then by 11%. This could add about 22 billion UAH.

What will happen to the 'UZ-3000' program

In addition, the state is preparing the 'UZ-3000' program, which will allow Ukrainians to travel for free up to 3000 km within Ukraine. The funding for the program will be provided by empty seats in the off-peak season and an increase in prices for the premium segment.

The chairman of the UZ management, Oleksandr Pertzovsky, emphasized that no additional budget funds will be needed to implement the program. However, free tickets will not apply to 1st class, SV, and international routes, where, on the contrary, dynamic pricing will be introduced.

Thus, the increase in train ticket prices reflects Ukrzaliznytsia's attempts to improve its financial situation considering the current challenges and circumstances. The 'UZ-3000' program promises to support socially vulnerable groups of the population, although it will not cover all categories of passengers.