Kharkiv is waiting for the transfer of Warsaw subway cars

The mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, has announced a plan to transfer decommissioned subway cars from Warsaw to the city. At a meeting with the vice mayor of the Polish sister city, Michal Olszewski, and the head of the Warsaw subway, Jerzy Lejk, on August 4, the mayor of Kharkiv briefed the Warsaw representatives on the tragedies that Kharkiv residents experienced as a result of the bombing, destruction of infrastructure and the residential sector. Ihor Terekhov also informed that work has begun on the transfer of two subway rolling stock to Kharkiv. He also expressed gratitude to the Warsaw administration and residents for their faith and support for Kharkiv and its people.

Previously, the Polish capital's subway decided to transfer 60 cars of the 81-717 series, which were manufactured at the Metrovagonmash plant (Mytishchi, Russia), to the Kyiv subway. The first set of six cars arrived in Kyiv at the end of April, and the second set in June. All in all, it is expected that all cars will be delivered by the end of this year.

Regarding the cars from Warsaw, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has previously stated that the main purpose of their use is as spare parts donors. However, some of them will still be used as full-fledged rolling stock.

Earlier, in February, it became known that Warsaw would donate 23 Konstal 105Na tramcars to Konotop (Sumy region). And in early August, the mayor of the city, Artem Semenikhin, said that the first such car had already started running.

According to Mr. Semenikhin, the cost of converting the first tram to the Ukrainian gauge, including the development of a design solution and all documentation, amounted to UAH 280,000. The transfer of the cars was free of charge, including delivery. Further tram conversions will be carried out by Konotop Tramway Management itself at a cost of about UAH 95 thousand.

It is worth noting that the tram gauge in Konotop (1524 mm) differs from the gauge of Warsaw's rail transport (1435 mm) and from the gauge of Ukrainian subways, so all the cars being transferred to Ukraine require appropriate changes to the running gear.