The Ukrzaliznytsia public railway company expects to add 6,000 new gondola cars to its fleet in 2017. Ukrzaliznytsia’s acting director for freight transport operations Yurii Merkulov announced this at the meeting of a working group at the Ministry of Economy Development & Trade, UAprom reports. The participants in the meeting prepared for the second expanded meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on issues related to the mining and metallurgical industry, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman.
In particular, according to Merkulov, Ukrzaliznytsia expects to receive 6,000 new gondola cars, of which 3,000 will be built at its own facilities and 3,300 purchased from other suppliers.
Merkulov also said that Ukrzaliznytsia intends to purchase 1,000 new railcars in 2016. Tenders have already been invited for supply of 670 and tenders for supply of 330 are still in the process of being invited. In addition, Ukrzaliznytsia intends to build 370 gondola cars at its own facilities.
In addition, Merkulov said that Ukrzaliznytsia currently has a working fleet of 23,000 gondola cars, but it intends to bring this figure to 27,800 before the end of the year by increasing the turnaround time.
According to Merkulov, 30-40 of Ukrzaliznytsia’s gondola cars go out of service per day.
