United Wagon Company is expanding opportunities for innovative cars usage
The railway holding United Wagon Company has established transportation company Vostok1520. The operator specializes in providing full range of services for freight transportation by innovative cars with improved maintenance characteristics in the territory of 1520 mm gauge.
Due to establishing the operator UWC approaches a market that is new for the company. Therefore, UWC plans to become one of the active partners in heavy-haul traffic technologies development in the territory of 1520 mm gauge, implementing practical solutions on separate areas.
Vostok1520’s managers are professionals with many years’ experience in the railway market.
The operator’s freight car fleet consists of innovative gondolas and hopper-cars, produced by Tikhvin Freight Car Building Plant (managed by UWC). Other Russian and CIS’s leading railcar enterprises in cooperation with UWC are actively moving the cars into the market. The competitive advantages of the rolling stock are loading capacity increased up to 25 tf, traffic safety and increased overhaul life that is 500 thousand km or 6 years from the car building before the first depot repair and 350 thousand km or 4 years between depot repairs.
Operation of trains formed of innovative cars will allow increasing traffic-carrying capacity in the densest routes, freight turnover up to 8%, as well as reducing cargoes delivery term due to decreasing number of uncoupling cars for repair.
Vostok1520 focuses on cooperation with coal, metallurgical and chemical enterprises; the operator carries out transportation on the Russian local routs and plans to expand operation in distant and near foreign countries in future.
Roman Savushkin, CEO at United Wagon Company, said: “We are creating industry center of technological competence on innovative railcars operation. That will help our customers to use the rolling stock potential more effectively, and allows us making cars that are more advanced. For this reason, we organized procedure on special transportation company establishment and innovative cars preparation. We are entering a market that is new for us and we are among the first in Russia to develop heavy-haul traffic in the market. I am sure that unique work experience of Vostok1520 team will allow generate new solutions and knowledge in the area of new generation rolling stock operation”.
Vladimir Sosipatov, Managing Director at Vostok1520, said: “Development of innovative traffic is complicated but very interesting process. We can be considered as innovators, who are responsible for the first experiment, but this experiment will advantage the industry in general. Today it is very important for shippers to have opportunity not only to purchase or lease innovative car, but to get access to technological innovations without financial risks. We are building business-relations and selecting technological solutions, focused on non-standard approaches, that determines cooperation in accordance with requirements of a particular customer from the very beginning.
We are at the beginning of difficult way, but we are sure decisions have been taken are correct. It is proved by customers’ interest in improving the freight traffic. The market is entering a new stage of development, and we certainly have to participate in innovative renovation of railway industry”.
