United Wagon Company begins delivery of new generation box cars to Kuchukterminal

Research and Production Corporation United “Wagon Company (“RPC UWC” or the “Company”) (MOEX: UWGN), the market leader in innovative railcar building in the 1520 mm gauge area, has begun shipment of 20 new box cars to Kuchukterminal LLC, a transport company in joint ownership of the major Russian producer of sodium sulfate, OJSC Kuchuksulphat, and the international logistics company LTB. Delivery will be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2017.

Contracted cars are built by the RPC UWC subsidiary, TikhvinSpetsMash, and are designed to carry various packaged and bulk cargos for the pulp and paper, glass, chemical and other industries. Kuchukterminal buys box cars with advanced features to help Kuchuksulphat to optimize its logistics, on the one hand, and enable LTB to provide up-to-date rolling stock for use by its customers, on the other hand. The 11-6874 design increases maximum load to 73 tons and cubic volume to 175 cubic metres, offering a 7% increase in load capacity. Dimensions of the door enable loading and unloading by all types of forklift trucks. Four roof hatches offer quick and easy loading of bulk cargos.

Rolling stock is equipped with bogies with axial load of 25 tf and is designed for service life of 32 years. Running costs through the life cycle of the cars has been reduced by more than three times by extending the standard interval between scheduled repairs to eight years (800,000 km). An extensive network of service centers (more than 60 depots) is already in place for servicing of RPC UWC freight cars.

Buyers of box cars with increased axial load can benefit from Russian Government Decree No. 544 dated 10 May 2017, which offers a subsidy of 350,000 roubles per car purchased.

Ilya Lang, member of the Board of Directors of Kuchukterminal LLC, commented: "Our young company has broad competence in rail transportation and the use of advanced technologies is fundamental to our development strategy. That is why we have given preference to the new generation railcars from UWC railway holding, which will help us to deliver more cargos more reliably and safely. This is the first time we have worked with UWC and we hope to expand our cooperation in the future."

Industry experts forecast steady demand for box cars in Russia over the next few years. About 1,000 cars have already exceeded their recommended service life and about 2,500-3,500 cars will be decommissioned each year for the next decade. Transport operators are keen to replace old cars by new generation rolling stock, which reduces per unit costs for goods transportation. It is expected that up-to-date cars will represent more than 20% of the overall Russian fleet by 2025.