The State Railway Administration (Ukrzaliznytsia) has asked the Hyundai Corporation (South Korea) to extend the warranty service and repair periods for the 10 Hyundai trains that Ukraine purchased as part of the preparation for the 2012 European football championship by one year. Ukrzaliznytsia’s First Deputy General Director Mykola Serhienko announced this at a news briefing in Kiev, the Interfax Ukraine news agency reports.

According to him, the current warranty period for a number of trains will expire in May and the warranty period for the rest will expire in November this year. In addition, the current service agreement was signed with the company in 2012 for a period of four years and seven months.

Serhienko noted that Hyundai Rotem financed the replacement of 60 current collectors on the 10 trains at the cost of EUR 18,000 each after a series of breakdowns and malfunctions last year.

As reported, the Ukrainian High-Speed Railway Company, which operates under Ukrzaliznytsia, suspended the operations of all the 10 Korean express trains after cracks were found in the supporting structure of a railcar in one of the trains. Korean experts, who will arrive in Ukraine on February 14, will perform comprehensive technical inspection of the trains.