New train service between Bratislava and Kyiv

For the start of the 2025 timetable, ZSSK in cooperation with UZ has introduced a new pair of R 961/964 express trains on the route Košice - Čop with the possibility of connecting to/from Kyiv. These trains consist of two direct carriages running on the route Bratislava - Košice, which will change from Ex 617 "Tatran" Bratislava (departure 11.27 h) - Košice (arrival 16.53 h) to train R 964 with departure from Košice at 17.46 h and arrival in Chop at 21.41 h (local time), from which passengers can change in Chop to sleeper train No. 28 of UZ with departure at 22.38. This train will arrive in Kyiv via Mukachevo and Lviv at 10.01.

In the opposite direction, there is a connection in Chop from train No. 27, departing at 19.57 from Kyiv, arriving in Chop at 7.50. From there R 961 departs at 9.59, arriving in Košice at 13.18, where its carriages are coupled to Ex 620 "Tatran" Košice (departure 14.07) - Bratislava (arrival 19.33). The new R 961/964 services have compulsorily seat reservation, Slovak border and customs control takes place directly on board the train in Čierna nad Tisou (where, however, passengers are not allowed to board and alight).

The new Košice - Čop services are operated under the name "Zakarpatia" and complement the existing two pairs of fast trains (now the numbers 960, 962, 963 and 965) operated under the same name on the Košice - Mukačevo route by ZSSK‘s Class 813 DMUs.

Still available is the RegioJet's service to Ukraine via Chop, introduced in March 2024 and also consisting of direct carriages, in this case from Praha - Košice train. It offers fast train connections from/to the Ukrainian hinterland in Chop with longer change times than the new Bratislava service described above. UZ introduced at that time a connecting 345/346 Chernivtsi - Chop - Uzhgorod service to RegioJet trains to check sufficient interest. However, this did not happen and, as RegioJet now states in response to our enquiry, "UZ cancelled the connecting train after approximately two months of its launch. The opertor was expecting passenger numbers that were not possible at that time".