Uzhhorod will become a rail hub for passengers traveling between Ukraine and Central and Southeastern Europe

, according to UZ CEO Ivan Yuryk. In a first step, UZ is spending $200,000 this summer to study restoring 20 km of Euro gauge track that was abandoned in the 1990s. Originally laid during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the line runs from Uzhhorod to Chop. Chop already has dual gauge tracks to Hungary and Slovakia. At Uzhhorod Central Station, EU-bound travelers will clear Ukrainian customs while they change trains. Yuryk predicts: “Uzhhorod will become a railway hub for changing trains running on the Eurorail.”