Changing to European track gauge? ‘Not just different width, a different philosophy’
Freight trains in Ukraine Ukrainian Railways
The EU is currently assessing the possibility of extending the standard gauge of the European railway network to Ukraine and Moldova, as part of its effort to better integrate the countries in the European transport area. This is not as straightforward as it sounds. The track gauge of the countries is not only different in width, it is a different philosophy, argues Oleksandr Zavgorodni, Chairman of the Expert Council at the All-Ukrainian Center for Transport Infrastructure Reforms.
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Ucraine might be advised to design a couple of high-speed lines, one of which may extend to Lviv and the polish border, before reconstruction starts and finding rights of way would become more difficult. Changing the gauge is already problematic with Rail Baltica and in Spain. I believe the country would be better off if retaining the existing gauge, except possibly for some sections close to the border, like west of Lviv, to allow direct trains from there to Central Europe with one gauge.
What a nonsense! “On a 1435mm-wide track, trains are 600 meters long and have an axle load of 20 tons. On the wide gauge track, trains weigh up to 1800 tons and are 840 meters.”
That has nothing to do with the gauge; only with the length of sidings or the quality of the track itself. Surprised to hear such a statement.