France’s Alstom Transport to supply new locomotives for Ukrainian Railways with EBRD support

On 17 November, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended a Paris ceremony to mark the award of a major contract to supply electric locomotives from France’s Alstom Transport to Ukrainian Railways (UZ). 

The project is co-financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with a €300 million loan and supported by an investment grant of up to US$190 million from the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund (URTF), administered by the World Bank. 

The contract was awarded to Alstom Transport through a competitive tender, and the EBRD has already disbursed an advance payment of approximately €120 million to accelerate delivery. The EBRD’s sovereign-guaranteed loan, combined with the URTF grant support, will enable UZ to renew its fleet and maintain essential cargo and passenger services during wartime. 

“UZ’s heroism and resilience has been critical since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine in 2022. Despite immense challenges, the state-owned operator has kept trains running for agricultural exports, humanitarian aid and millions of passengers, including internally displaced people and refugees,” the EBRD said in a press release.

The EBRD lending for new locomotives follows €200 million in 2023 to upgrade rail links with the European Union and €150 of emergency liquidity finance to Ukrainian Railways in 2022 to help Ukraine keep its trains running.

In 2024, in response to devastating Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power generation system, the Bank lent UZ €180 million to install small-scale generators at sites around the country, providing up to 270 MW of capacity at selected UZ sites to help address Ukraine’s electricity deficit. 

Beyond ensuring transport continuity, the latest investment will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency, support accessibility for people with disabilities and vulnerable groups and launch a veterans’ reintegration programme for demobilised workers.

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Press release