On the Draft Law on Safety and Interoperability of Railway Transport in Ukraine

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved the draft Law “On the Safety and Interoperability of Railway Transport in Ukraine”, developed by the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, and submitted it to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Registration No. 14174 of October 31, 2025).

This Law regulates relations between business entities operating in the railway transport sector whose activities affect the safety and interoperability of railway transport, and the State, represented by authorized public authorities. The provisions of this Law do not apply to industrial (technological) railway transport.

According to Article 1 “Definitions” of the draft Law, interoperability means the ability of the railway transport system to ensure the safe and uninterrupted movement of rolling stock with the required level of operational efficiency.

The draft Law:

– provides for the establishment of a railway transport safety management system in line with the requirements of the European Union legislation;

– introduces the obligation to conduct risk assessments related to the functioning of railway transport;

– establishes the legal framework for technical regulation and the authorization of railway transport subsystems for operation;

– introduces the European approach to ensuring the maintenance of rolling stock and the responsibility for its safe technical condition;

– introduces a European system for licensing locomotive/train drivers to operate on railway infrastructure, as well as the functioning of training centers responsible for the training, retraining, and qualification upgrading of locomotive drivers.

The draft Law also introduces amendments to several laws of Ukraine, including the Laws “On Transport”, “On Railway Transport”, and “On the Permit System in Business Activity”.

The Law shall enter into force on the day following the day of its official publication and shall be put into effect three years after the date of its publication.

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