Ukraine needs to urgently modernise its aged railway infrastructure. One of the principal goals of this work involves the modernisation from the current 1520 mm broad-gauge railway towards the internationally accepted 1435 mm gauge to better integrating the country's railway network into the European system. However, the country currently lacks its own production of modern rail fastening systems, which is essential for such an expansion.

Schwihag's long-term goal with this project is to establish a competence centre for rail fastening systems in the region, create jobs and know-how transfer as well as actively shape the sustainable development of the Ukrainian transport sector. To ensure the right quality and to have an efficient office and production team at Schwihag Ukraine (SHUA), Schwihag will send employees from its Swiss/German locations to SHUA to train the local employees. In addition, employees from SHUA will also spend time at Schwihag in Germany and Switzerland for training purposes.

Schwihag AG establishes a functioning, locally staffed production facility capable of independently producing fastening systems and potentially fastening clips. Ukrainian Railways (UZ) will be equipped with modern, EU-standard compliant materials

This infrastructure enhancement will support greater regional interoperability, freight mobility, and ultimately reduce logistics bottlenecks across Ukraine and at its western borders.

The close proximity between the new production facility and the GSI Group ensures the development of a strong industrial cluster, fostering synergies in logistics, knowledge transfer, and local value creation.

Expected results:  

The project renovates a production hall co-located with GSI Group's sleeper facility. It includes the purchase and commissioning of injection moulding machines and laboratory equipment, as well as the establishment of a domestic supply chain for raw materials and components

Local production supports the delivery of fastening systems for approximately 340,000 sleepers

In addition, fastening systems for more than 300 kilometres of railway track (520,000 rail sleeper sets) will be supplied to Ukrainian Railways

The plant also creates 10-20 direct jobs in production, logistics, and administration, and indirectly supports employment through suppliers and contractors. Five employees will be trained in Germany/Switzerland for 4 weeks and two employees from Schwihag Germany are to be sent to Schwihag Ukraine for three weeks.