Ukraine and Moldova are launching a new railway line, which was built after the start of a full-scale Russian invasion, the Ministries of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and Moldova announced Wednesday.
Both ministries as well as the border and customs services of both countries have signed previously in the day of a Protocol on the organization of joint control at the joint checkpoint for the Serpneve-1 – Basarabeasca railway.
The transport on the new railway will begin at midnight on March 25th and will largely compensate for the railway communication over the heavily attacked bridge in Zatoka, which is a constant target of Russian missiles.
Sergey Zvyagintsev of Ukraine’s State Customs Service pointed out that Kyiv sees the new railway as a great opportunity to expand both Ukraine’s export potential and the transit capabilities of Moldova.
In the future, this railway link could also help Moldovan enterprises to expand their export in the foreign markets using the logistics of the ports of Odessa region and serve as an impetus to the growth of investments in terms of business and development of transit potential and logistics routes.
Per the head of Ukraine’s Border Service, Sergiy Deineko, this railway will intensify trade and economic activity between Ukraine and Moldova, as well as deepen their cooperation in border management.
Ukraine and Moldova have been working over the last year on rebuilding and restoring part of the railway networks that are connecting the two countries.
In August 2022, railway workers in the Odesa region have restored the Berezyne (Ukraine) – Basarabeasca (Moldova) 23km- long section of the railroad, thus launching railway service between these stations – that stopped functioning in 1997- that allows bypassing self-proclaimed Transnistria.
After a 24-year break, Ukraine and Moldova in November 2022 have also resumed railway passenger transport on the Kyiv-Chisinau route.
