Kronospan to acquire wood chip gondolas from United Wagon Company

Research and production corporation “United Wagon Company” (UWC, the Company or the Holding) (MOEX: UWGN) has signed a contract with Kronospan, the world’s largest producer of chipboard, to provide 80 gondola cars (Russian Тпр (Tpr) standard dimensions) for transportation of wood chips. The cars are to be delivered in the first quarter of 2019.

The model 12-6995 cars designed by the All-Union Research and Development Centre for Transport Technology (part of UWC) are new products on the market of the carriage of wood chips. A prototype is now undergoing tests for certification by Federal Budgetary Organization “Register of Certification on the Federal Railway Transport” (FBO “RC FRT”). The cars will be built at the UWC car building enterprise, TikhvinSpetsMash.

The new gondola cars for wood chip transportation have unique technical features to maximize the rolling stock’s cost efficiency. Optimal ratio of payload capacity (70 t) to body space (211 m³) enables carriage of up to 30 m³ more cargo compared with analogues, all this without an increase in rail transport tariffs.

Hatches on the sides of the car make it easier to clean it after unloading.

The gondolas run on 18-9855 bogies with an increased axle load of 25 tf. Overhaul period (before a depot repair is needed) was increased to 800,000 km (or 8 years) against 210,000 km (or 3 years) for currently existing Russian analogues. Service life of the 12-6995 cars for wood chip transportation is 40 years.

Experts forecast growth in demand for specialized wood chip transportation cars in the medium term. In the last four years, transportation of wood chips has increased by 25%, while the number of cars suitable for wood chip transportation has decreased by 15%. A further 25% of wood chip transportation cars will reach the end of their service life by 2022.