Ukrzaliznytsia signs contract for 55 Alstom locomotives

Ukrzaliznytsia has signed a contract with French company Alstom to supply 55 electric freight locomotives worth €473 million during President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's visit to France, reports the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development.

The deal will be financed by international partners: 37% (173 million euros) is a non-refundable grant from the World Bank's URTF fund, and the rest will be covered by a soft loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The first locomotive will arrive in Ukraine in the first quarter of 2027.

"This agreement will solve a critical problem – the outdated fleet of traction rolling stock, the average age of which is over 46 years. Without such an upgrade, the export industry would have been threatened with the loss of freight capacity," said the Minister. Oleksiy Kuleba .

The contract was awarded following an international tender by the World Bank, which was attended by ten railway rolling stock manufacturers from Europe and Asia.

The supply will last from 2027 to 2029.

"The 55 new electric locomotives will effectively replace about 80 old analogues currently in operation and will reduce operating costs by more than 30%. The new dual-system electric locomotives will be able to cover the distance from the main regions of cargo origin to ports, while most routes now have to change traction, which significantly delays traffic," the report says.

The locomotives will be manufactured in France under international financing and given the tight delivery timeframe, but there is a preliminary agreement with Alstom on the possibility of involving Ukrainian manufacturers in the supply of various components during the service cycle, including security systems, communications equipment, brake pads, wheel sets, cable and wire products, and cooling systems.

The locomotives will be serviced at one of Ukrzaliznytsia's enterprises.

• The purchase of Alstom locomotives in France was planned back in 2021 before the full-scale war. At that time, a framework agreement was signed to support the renewal of the fleet of electric freight locomotives of Ukrainian Railways JSC, which provided for the supply of 130 Alstom electric locomotives for a total of up to €900 million.
• It was planned to purchase at least 50 units by 2025.