New Ukraine Rolling Stock and tracks makes the trip to Kyiv even more comfortable.

Thanks, this is wonderful to know. I only wish our Amtrak rolling stock was anywhere near this modern and that the rails themselves were updated (something Amtrak can't control as they don't own the tracks.)

Laurie Beth. Okay so they have a few new cars. What i find amazing is that they are building cars in a war. Life goes on. More amazing is the post office. A package from the Hungarian border to the war zone will be there in 2 days. Amazing.

As for the modern trains, I invite you to look at the photos of my last trip. Not so modern but sort of fun: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14ZOGD8i2grmyjU_slSBdp6PCQEesigdi?usp=sharing.

Mr E

I know that you travel to Ukraine and I realize it is a huge country?

So is there one or two areas at war but the rest of the country peaceful and not at war? Does everyday life just go on in the peaceful areas?

Where do you go when you go to Ukraine?

I have trouble keeping up with all the news that is happening in the world these days.

As it turns out, my maternal grandparents were from The Ukraine. it said Russia on her papers and it was Russia at the time but now we know it to be The Ukraine.

bostonphil7:

EDIT. I appreciated you question and I believe its an important topic but I also know the forum has a couple of members that bounce off the walls and have in the past reported threads on the subject. I am trying real hard not to make the webmasters life any more difficult so you read my responce and given that it is so far off the topic of trains I thought it best delete it. If someone were to post a question about "Is going to Ukraine right now a dumb idea" then we could return to your question.

Thank you for the question, excellent, and thank you for understanding this.

bostonphil7, I just added this above so people could see the train, but maybe more importantly it shows life during the war: https://youtu.be/l4WCi0MX2wc?si=hcRHaBQX-Yp985My

And here is this morning: https://youtu.be/ahyzvNCi35I?si=5uQZRTD4yVypHnlt Its hard to imagine but most of those people will probably be in shelters or sleeping in inner hallways tonight. The rule of thumb is two walls between you ane the outside world.

bostonphil, I know someone in both Kyiv and Odessa and they continue to fear bombs and continue to have power outages due to attacks on the electric grid.

Thank you Mr E and Cala

All I hear about in Austin is about the war. I hear about the attacks and the bombings and the deaths and the injuries.

I did not even know that life was going on in other parts of Ukraine. Or that tourists were visiting.

I recently rewatched this excellent movie on Prime about a British reporter who snuck into Ukraine to see for himself what was going on and he was shocked to find the citizens being starved by Stalin while they grew and harvested wheat for Russia and the rest of the world.

This took place maybe in the 30's.

I can not remember the name of the movie but it is haunting.

Mr E, maybe you can recall the name of the reporter and the movie ...

For now, I am getting ready for my trip to Paris but while staying over night in the airport on Monday do some research or watch the links suggested by Mr E.

The event in the movie is called the Holodomor. Some estimates put tge death count at 7 million. Needless to say this is still on the minds of Ukrainians when dealing with Russians. Watch that YouTube link I posted to Winter on Fire. It is also on NetFlix. I saw it tge first time in 2016. At the time I knew nothing about Ukraine but I was so moved that 3 days later I was on a flight to Kyiv. I still get emotional when I see it again or even discuss it. I get emotional each time I cross the border or see a refugee.

I have room in the car in July if you are interested.

Did a search and name of journalist is Gareth Jones.

Are you familiar with him and his work?

The movie is called Mr Jones.

And here is a somewhat negative review of the movie although the critic is trying to sell his own book.

https://www.garethjones.org/mr_jones/true_story.htm

Thank you for the offer but i never travel in summer.

I read about him. I would comment on his work but I imagine that the webmaster doesn't need anymore protests about this thread.

Back on track ... Tourism Transportation.

Ukraine is actively modernizing its rail fleet with new, locally produced passenger carriages and advanced international locomotives to improve comfort and logistics.

As of April 2026, Ukrzaliznytsia has introduced new domestically built, modern carriages (featuring air conditioning, accessible spaces) and contracted with Alstom for 55 high-power electric freight locomotives (Traxx Hauler) to be delivered by 2029.

Key 2025-2026 Rolling Stock Upgrades:

Passenger Carriages: 100 new carriages are being produced by the Kryukiv Wagon-Building Plant with deliveries through May 2028. The first batches in 2026 feature air conditioning, updated, ergonomic shelving, and improved accessibility.

Sakura Train: A new flagship train connecting Kyiv and Uzhhorod was launched in April 2026, utilizing new locally-produced cars.

Freight Locomotives: Ukrzaliznytsia signed a €473 million contract with Alstom to deliver 55 Traxx UA8AC freight electric locomotives by 2029. These are designed to be 30% more efficient, capable of operating in dual-voltage, and will be assembled with local Ukrainian input.

New Design Initiatives: Work is ongoing with Spain to create automatic gauge-changing freight bogies, which will enable faster transit between the Ukrainian 1,520mm and European 1,435mm rail networks.

[This is great news as currently trains to and from Western Europe have a delay of several hours while their wheels are changed.]

Infrastructure: Approximately 200 kilometers of track have been renewed, supported by rails imported from Japan.Key Moderniz.

Unfortunately the russians have been targeting civilian passenger trains at a faster rate than they can be replaced. But with the war demand is down, so service continues to meet demand.