Russia-made flat cars approved for operation on European railway network

Research and production corporation “United Wagon Company” (“UWC”, the “Group” or the “Company”) (MOEX: UWGN), Russia’s largest manufacturer of freight cars¹, has obtained the vehicle type approval for its Sggrs(s) 80’ six-axle and Sgmmns 40’ four-axle flat cars from the European Union Agency for Railways, which allows operation of the railcars on European railway network according to Directive (EU) 2016/797. For the first time in modern Russian history, domestic freight cars will be operated in Europe on a gauge of 1,435 mm. Company’s current order portfolio for European countries exceeds 1,000 wagons.

The European Regulator issued the permit based on the results of freight car testing, production audit and series of certification tests for compliance with TSI, organized by the Czech Railway Research Institute (VUZ), an authorised certification body accredited by the European Union Agency for Railways. Russia-made flat cars designed to transport heavyweight containers in European countries have passed successfully the strength tests for static load and impact, stationary and in-motion brake tests, dynamic and strength testing in motion, and noise impact tests.

Moreover, as part of the technical acceptance process, the client’s representatives performed a comprehensive assessment of technical specifications of the series-built freight cars for compliance with European standards. Thus, over 100 key parameters of the Sggrs 80’ six-axle articulated flat car were assessed, including size checks, brake system tests, paintwork inspection and non-destructive weld control, etc.

The export Sggrs(s) 80’ and Sgmmns 40’ flat cars have been developed by the UWC’s engineering centre and are manufactured at the Tikhvin production site. Thanks to its articulated structure, Sggrs(s) 80’ flat car has a load capacity of 108 t and allows transportation of variously sized containers with a gross weight of up to 40 tonnes. The Sgmmns 40’ flat car features improved technical specifications compared to similar cars currently available on the European market, such as smaller tare weight of 15.5 t (compared with tare weights of 16 t and higher for its common counterparts). The flat car has a load capacity of 74.5 t and measures 40 feet in length. Both railcars are equipped with bogies with an axle load of 22.5 t fit for operation on the 1,435-mm track gauge.

United Wagon Company’s team was helped by the Trade Mission of the Russian Federation in Germany, which rendered administrative support facilitating the approval process in the situation of international travel restrictions due to COVID-19.

Victor Dolgov, Deputy CEO, Production and Supply at UWC: “The approval of the series-produced freight cars by a European regulation authority represents a significant step forward for us both in terms of fulfilling our contracts and as part of the development of Company’s export strategy. We have been preparing for this seriously for a long time and we are delighted that our products will be used in Europe. We would like to express our gratitude to the Trade Mission of the Russian Federation in Germany, whose effort and support made it possible for our specialists to attend the rolling stock acceptance procedure despite the severe restrictions in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.”

¹Data sourced from INFOLine-Analytics: https://infoline.spb.ru/news/index.php?news=205975