Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Chief Executive Officer of Alstom, and Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, CEO of Ukrainian Railways, have signed a contract for the supply of 55 Traxx electric freight locomotives. The contract price also includes training for train drivers, maintenance personnel and some deliveries of parts.
The first new electric locomotive will arrive in Ukraine in the first quarter of 2027. After that, it will undergo certification and the necessary tests. The delivery of the entire batch will continue during 2027-2029.
The contract has been signed on November 17, 2025, in the presence of Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine.
EUR 473 million is the value of the contract, which will be financed primarily by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development with EUR 300 million and the World Bank with USD 190 million.
“The locomotives we will deliver are tailored to meet the country’s specific infrastructure needs, while ensuring high performance, reliability, and energy efficiency,” Henri Poupart-Lafarge said.
Tailor-made locomotives providing high performance, reliability, and energy efficiency will be able to run at 120 km/h.
The new electric freight locomotives based on the Alstom Traxx Hauler platform will become the first European locomotives in Ukraine that can operate on two types of power supply. This will allow them to be more versatile and efficient on different sections of the railway.
The ordered locomotives will have four bogies in a twin Bo-Bo configuration, which means that each axle will be powered by a separate traction motor. The dual-voltage locomotives will be adapted to 3kV DC and 25kV AC traction systems. With power ranging from 7.2 to 9.4 MW, the locomotives will reach speeds of 120 km/h. Their design ensures high operational efficiency, reliability, and energy efficiency, enabling them to haul heavier loads than other solutions currently available on the market. The electric locomotives will use Ukrainian-made security systems and radio stations.
The locomotives will be designed and manufactured at Alstom’s Belfort site in France, however, the agreement also creates opportunities for domestic component manufacturers for decades to come. A preliminary agreement has been reached with Alstom on the possibility of including Ukrainian manufacturers of various components in the supply during the service cycle, including safety systems, communication equipment, brake pads, wheel sets, cable and wire products, cooling systems, etc. An expanded meeting of the Alstom, UZ and a wide range of domestic manufacturers of railway products is planned for the first quarter of 2026 to start cooperation. A modern service center will be deployed in Ukraine on the basis of one of the UZ enterprises to service the locomotives.
The new Traxx electric freight locomotives will replace the existing fleet with an average of 46 years, with the contract being an “important step toward solving the critical problem of the outdated traction fleet, and an investment in economic security and the sustainability of our logistics. This agreement is an important signal of the trust of international partners (URTF Fund of the World Bank, EBRD) in the future of the Ukrainian railway industry,” said the CEO of Ukrainian Railways.
According to Ukrainian Railways, currently, the average age of the locomotive fleet is 46 years, wear and tear is over 96%, and in 2-3 years the traction deficit will not allow transporting the required volumes of cargo, significantly narrowing the possibilities of export industries. The company may lose up to 10% of freight revenues each year.
The new 55 new electric locomotives will effectively replace about 80 old analogues currently in operation, and will allow reduced operating costs by more than 30%.
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