United Transport and Logistics Company – Eurasian Railway Alliance (UTLC ERA) has purchased 200 railcars fitting 80-foot containers from Osipovichsky Plant of Mechanical Engineering (OPME). All units will be delivered by the end of April, 2019. The total value of the contract is more than 650 million roubles (74.5 million Euros).

UTLC ERA is responsible for the vast majority of Eurasian railway traffic on the broad gauge railway network on the New Silk Road. The company is on a mission to increase its private fleet of railcars to provide the transit traffic growth, optimise the costs and reduce its dependence on substantial rates growth of rented wagons. In fact, the recent purchase may not be the latest.

1000 more

At the end of 2019, we plan to increase the number of cars under management to 5 thousand units. 85-90 per cent of the fleet will consist of long-base 80-foot railcars”, Alexey Grom, the President of UTLC ERA noted.

At the end of 2018, the operator owned more than 4 thousand units. “This is the second largest fleet of container railcars in operation throughout the entire 1520 mm gauge railway”, the company noted.
“To ensure the planned traffic volumes for the next year, we need about a thousand more railcars. In order to build up the fleet, we intend to use all the possible options like renting, financial leasing as well as purchase”, Grom said.

Large capacity containers

The 13-9570 model of railcars manufactured by OPME is destined for the transportation of large-capacity containers. UTLC ERA considered several Russian and foreign manufacturers for the order, but the price conditions and delivery terms proposed by OPME were optimal, the operator said.

“The equality of the cooperation conditions with Russian and Belarusian counterparties was ensured by the fact that the supply contract with the Belarusian manufacturer applies a zero VAT rate, fixed by the provisions of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in May 29, 2014. In accordance with them, when goods are exported by the taxpayer of the EAEU Member State to another EAEU Member State, a zero VAT rate is applied.”