Ukrzaliznytsia, the Ukrainian state railway operator, is increasing the number of trains with women-only compartments. Starting from 1 August, Ukrzaliznytsia will add such cars to trains on four railway routes. The tickets for the compartments will be available for buyers from 13 July.
On 23 May, Ukrzaliznytsia announced a pilot project on introducing ladies-only carriages on its trains. This initiative followed a petition in which Ukrainian women requested separate spaces for their safety.
On 12 June 2023, the railway operator opened the sale of tickets for the compartments. These cars were set up on four of the most popular routes: Dnipro — Truskavets, Kyiv — Kryvyi Rih, Kharkiv — Lviv, and Kyiv — Uzhhorod. They are priced the same as regular carriage tickets.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal promised that if there is increased demand for ladies-only compartments, the project will be expanded to other routes.
In September, Ukrzaliznytsia said the service's popularity was undoubtedly high which resulted in the number of tickets sold: almost 90% are purchased 20 days in advance.
"Ukrzaliznytsia is adhering to its promise of systematically scaling up the project. Today, women-only compartments have a record passenger satisfaction level of 88%.
Therefore, we have made the necessary updates to increase the number of routes with women-only compartments to 12. At the peak of the summer travel season, we chose four more routes with long travel times, which are particularly popular among mothers with young children who go on vacation," said Yevhen Liashchenko, the chairman of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia.
Railway workers ensure that the cost of women-only compartments will not differ from that of other cars of the same type on a specific route but will guarantee a certain level of privacy and a sense of safety during the journey.
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