Russian Railways proposes railcar manufacturers focus on producing specialized and innovative rolling stock

MOSCOW. Jan 31 (Interfax) - OJSC Russian Railways (RZD) is proposing that railcar manufacturers concentrate on producing specialized and innovative rolling stock, RZD Deputy Head and Head of the Central Directorate for Traffic Management Mikhail Glazkov told journalists.

"Today, there is an excess of certain types of rolling stock, such as gondola cars and oil tank cars, while there is a shortage of specialized rolling stock - mineral carriers, grain hoppers, methanol tank cars and so on. Our proposal is that, in order to support industry and ensure the transportation of the required amounts of cargo, railcar manufacturers should focus their efforts on producing the scarce rolling stock that is currently in demand," Glazkov said.

RZD fully supports the railcar manufacturing industry in the development of innovative rolling stock. "This applies to both gondola cars and tank cars," he said.

Last year, tests were conducted on an innovative articulated tank car, which makes it possible to transport a larger volume of cargo with the same number of trains. "Together with the Federal Freight Company, we tested this tank car and are ready to work with this type of rolling stock," he said.

"Today, there are 185,000 innovative gondola cars operating on the RZD network. In the Kuzbass and the Eastern Polygon, thanks to decisions made in 2024, we have already concentrated 120,000 innovative gondola cars. To transport 54.1 million tonnes of coal from the Kemerovo region, 68,000 innovative gondola cars are sufficient," he said. The share of innovative gondola car usage reached 59% by the end of 2024 and 69% in January, he said.

"Our goal is to transition to 100% [use of innovative gondola cars] starting April 1, but this only applies to coal shipments to ports. China does not accept innovative railcars through border crossings," he said.

Regarding possible penalties for companies that do not own innovative rolling stock, Glazkov said there would be none. "We do not have that authority. Companies and enterprises decide for themselves what type of rolling stock they will use, but coal shipment records [under the agreement on coal exports from the Kuzbass] will be maintained based on the use of innovative rolling stock," he said.