United Wagon Company to supply United Grain Company with grain hoppers

PJSC «Research and production corporation «United Wagon Company» («RPC UWC» or the Holding) (MOEX: UWGN), the market leader in innovative railcar building in the 1520 mm gauge area, and JSC "United Grain Company" (UGC) have signed a supply contract for 1.5 thousand grain hoppers with body space of 120 m³, the first batch to be delivered soon. 

The grain hoppers manufactured at Tikhvin Freight Car Building Plant (TVSZ, part of Holding UWC) are mounted on bogies with 25 tf axle load and have increased body space (120 m3) with a minimum loading capacity of 76 t, which allows for efficient transportation of a wide range of grains.  The longer run between repairs (8 years or 800 thousand km) reduces the railcar’s life cycle costs by a maximum of 3 times. The grain hoppers are fully compatible with the current infrastructure and may be successfully operated at any loading and unloading terminals.

UGC is to form its own railcar fleet under the company’s Long-Term Development Programme until 2020. The UGC’s own fleet will run in the Southern and Eastern Grain Corridors where the company is actively implementing its core investment projects: modernisation of Novorossiysk Grain Plant’s facilities and construction of the Far Eastern grain terminal in the Zarubino port. The total financing amount required for the project at the first stage is estimated at RUB 4.6 billion. The UGC's fleet will grow to 8.5 thousand railcars with a prospective freight turnover of some 10 million tons annually. 

Marat Shaidaev, Director at JSC UGC, said, “With a fleet of its own, we will become a stronger competitor and improve our logistics performance, with our infrastructure facilities such grain elevators and port terminals to enjoy steady traffic of freight.”