UWC rolls out first articulated tank car fleet in the CIS

Research and production corporation “United Wagon Company” (UWC, the Holding or the Company) (MOEX: UWGN) and the TEXOL group, one of Kazakhstan's largest railway operators and freight car fleet owners, have signed a contract on the supply of 400 articulated tank cars for the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). This articulated tank car design is revolutionary, with no other model on the CIS market able to match its technical and operational standards.

The 15-9541-01 tank car models will be subjected to test operation with their performance continuously monitored in the TEXOL’s fleet. The cars will transport freight from Irkutsk Oil Company ranking among Russia's largest independent oil and gas producers.

The design features of the articulated car will enable significant savings in the transportation of freight, especially on long routes without depots. The tank car has a boiler volume of 163.1 m³ and a payload capacity of 90 t, which allows the fleet size to be reduced by more than a half compared to standard LPG cars.

The unique design of the tank car consists of two boilers connected by an articulated joint able to sustain increased lateral and vertical loads. With a car length of 24 metres, the coupler design ensures unobstructed passing of both a single articulated car and an articulated car connected to standard cars along straight and curved sections of track, including those with small radii. As the location of the boiler fittings matches that of standard 12-metre cars, UWC's articulated cars can be easily serviced at standard terminals.

The six-axle tank car is equipped with a bogie with an axle load of 25 tf, and a bogie-mounted brake system for a safe and efficient braking. Maintenance and repairs of UWC freight cars in the 1520 area are performed at a wide network of servicing centres including facilities located in Kazakhstan (in the cities of Pavlodar, Kazaly and Karaganda).

The tank car was designed at All-Union Research and Development Centre for Transportation Technology and manufactured at TikhvinChemMash, a member of the UWC Group.

Andrey Krivchenkov, Executive Director at Trade House United Wagon Company, commented on the deal, ‘We have rolled out a railcar unmatched in the market. Used in trains, it allows to increase their useful length and carrying capacity without having to spend much on renovating the infrastructure. We hope the market to welcome the new product, and the TEXOL group to capitalize on all the benefits of operating the newly built articulated cars.’

Sergey Gorsky, a member of the Board of Directors of TexolTrans, added, ‘Starting to ship freight in articulated cars represents a huge breakthrough for the entire rail freight industry. Operating these revolutionary cars will bring a raft of advantages to each party involved in the transportation process, from the freight owner to the owner of the rolling stock and the railway infrastructure operator, and, therefore, the popularity of these cars will most certainly grow. We are extremely pleased to see the operation of articulated cars in the 1520 area go international as soon as it commences involving Tikhvin manufactured cars, Irkutsk oil workers, and Kazakhstan’s railmen.’