The European Investment Bank (EIB) will lend €50 million ($56 million) to the city of Kyiv to help replace its fleet of aging Russian subway, or metro, coaches with new, energy-efficient Western versions, the lender said Tuesday in a press release.
"Before the war, 80% of Kyiv’s metro fleet came from Russian manufacturers, making ending this reliance a strategic priority," the EIB said. "With over 60% of the fleet past its operational life, the new funding will allow outdated coaches to be replaced with modern, energy-efficient alternatives from local or international suppliers."
The lender said the loan will also "help the Kyiv metro end its dependence on Russian-made spare parts, ensuring more resilient and reliable transport."
The loan, backed by the EIB's EU for Ukraine Fund, is the first tranche of a €200 million loan package available to Kyiv for metro infrastructure upgrades.
The remaining €150 million will be disbursed after an EIB-funded feasibility study assesses whether acquiring new coaches is more cost-effective than modernizing the current fleet.
The total funding will enable Kyivskyi Metropoliten, the operator of the Kyiv metro system, to upgrade or replace 120-160 metro coaches, according to the EIB.
Since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022, the EIB has provided more than €2 billion of financing for emergency repairs of Ukraine's infrastructure.
