Ukraine launches major train route connecting Lviv and Warsaw.

Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) launched a direct train route between Lviv and Warsaw on Oct.

15, the state-owned railway company announced. This marks the first time in 18 years that the Lviv-Warsaw route has been in operation. A trip from Lviv to Warsaw takes about nine hours and the route is expected to operate daily carrying 500 passengers, according to Polish media.

Around 2 million Ukrainians live and work in Poland, including refugees who crossed the border following Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Passengers will have to transfer train carriages in Rava-Ruska, a Ukrainian town around 10 kilometers from the Polish border, because of differences in track gauges. The new direct service is a joint effort between Ukrainian Railways, Ukraine's government-owned rail operator, and Poland's SKPL transport company.

"It took us more than six months to implement this project, in particular, to agree all the details with the Polish side and to open the checkpoint. From now on, 10 more localities in Ukraine will be connected by rail to Warsaw and Lublin," said Yevhen Lashchenko, chairman of Ukrainian Railway's board of directors. The project's launch comes on the same day as Poland's parliamentary elections.

Exit polls show that Warsaw's opposition bloc is set to take power, signaling renewed Polish support for Ukraine.