UWC to supply 400 grain hopper cars to MosRegionTrans

PJSC «Research and production corporation «United Wagon Company» («RPC UWC», the Holding or the Company) (MOEX: UWGN) will fulfil the order from MosRegionTrans, LLC ("MRT") for 400 hopper cars for the transportation of grains and milling products in 2023.

The delivery of the 19-9549 freight cars will be done in stages under a tripartite agreement between the UWC Group, State Transport Leasing Company (GTLK) and railway operator MosRegionTrans. About 300 cars manufactured by the Tikhvin Freight Car Building Plant (part of the UWC Group) are presently operated in MRT’s fleet across Russia and the CIS.

The 19-9549 hopper car is designed to transport a wide range of grain cargoes. The freight car is mounted on bogies with an axle load of 25 t and has an increased body capacity of 120 m³ enabling its full payload of 76 t to be utilised. Compared to common-type rolling stock, the additional loading volume is up to 6 t per freight car. This saves up to 7% on transportation charges per tonne of freight.

The longer maintenance intervals of the Tikhvin freight car ensure a reduction in maintenance costs over its life cycle. This 19-9549 hopper car undergoes its first and subsequent depot maintenance at 1 million km or after eight years of operation, while railcars equipped with common-type bogies need this service as early as at 210 and 110 thousand km, respectively, or after three years of operation.

The car body is treated with a special two-component coating to protect the load from environmental exposures. The locking devices used in the hatch locking mechanism prevent unauthorised access to the cargo.

In addition, the original locking devices have fewer seals than their counterparts, which significantly increases the speed of handling operations and reduces the cost of sealing devices. The hopper car has five loading hatches and six unloading hatches, which ensure that the load is evenly distributed in the body and can be unloaded quickly.

Ilya Zhelnov, Chief Executive Officer at MosRegionTrans, LLC: “We have been in the market for 10 years now and have been systematically transforming our fleet into a fleet of new generation freight cars. Today, all innovative grain hopper cars in our fleet were made by UWC and have a capacity of 76 tonnes. We continue to rely on the Tikhvin cars, which are time-tested. We hope to develop cooperation with our partners, GTLK and UWC, as we look to implement our most ambitious plans for raising MRT’s market share in the medium term.”

As estimated by the UWC Group, at 1 January 2023, the number of grain hopper cars on the Russian rail network amounted to 55 thousand, with an average age of 9.1 years. 20.8 thousand hopper cars (37.8% of the total grain car fleet) were equipped with 25-t bogies, with 87.5% of these cars manufactured by UWC. The UWC Group’s overall share of grain cars in the Russian market between January 2016 and December 2022, was 45.3%.

GTLK is the largest customer for innovative railcars in Russia. The company's activities contribute to the support of rail vehicle manufacturers, renewal of rolling stock and development of transportation infrastructure. As at 31/12/2022, GTLK's leased and rented railcar fleet totals 93.6 thousand railcars, and with contracted railcars included, 102.3 thousand, where 5 thousand are grain hopper cars (90% of which are equipped with 25-t bogies). The total investment in the railcar construction sector is RUB 387 billion.