USAID improves the efficiency of rail cargo operations at the Railway Border Crossing Points
USAID, through the Economic Resilience Activity (ERA), is providing 20 bogie exchange lifts to the Railway Border Crossing Point (BCP) operated by Ukrainian Railways (UZ) in Lviv Oblast on Ukraine’s border with Poland.
Bogie exchange lifts are used to efficiently change wheel bogies to move trains and wagons from wider gauges (1520 mm) used in Ukraine to standard gauges (1435 mm) used in Europe and vice versa.
Using these new lifts will contribute to more precise rail car rearrangement and, ultimately, to the efficiency of rail freight transportation between Ukraine and the European Union. It will also increase transshipment capacity by 40 wagons per day.
At the beginning of June, the USAID ERA contractor installed the first three sets of four, each with the capacity to lift railcars weighing more than 100 tons, at the rail BCP in Lviv Oblast. The remaining two sets are to be installed by the beginning of July.
In February 2024, USAID ERA also supported the installation of 12 bogie exchange lifts at the rail BCP in Chernivtsi Oblast, on the Ukrainian-Romanian border, to boost rail operations.
Ongoing upgrades at the rail BCPs will collectively contribute to a more robust and efficient transportation network, bolstering trade and economic growth for Ukraine.
Background: Between 2023-2026, USAID, through the Economic Resilience Activity (ERA), is dedicating $115 million to support the supports the Government of Ukraine, including the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine (Ministry for Restoration), the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine (Agency for Restoration), the State Customs Service, and Ukrainian Railways (UZ), to upgrade 42 of Ukraine’s border crossing points (BCPs).