Brunswick Rail to expand number of specialized railcars in its fleet
MOSCOW. May 24 (Interfax) - Railway leasing operator Brunswick Rail plans to increase the number of specialized railcars in its fleet in order to meet rising demand for these units, the company's deputy general director and director for business development, Vladimir Khoroshilov, said on Thursday
Khoroshilov said: "Bearing in mind that a changing vector in demand for railcars has been traceable on the market, there is a move from gondola cars to specialized cars. We are interested in developing partnership with companies from the petrochemical and gas sectors. Over the mid-term, we plan to increase the number of specialized railcars, such as tanker cars."
For instanced, the company said on Thursday that it had signed an agreement with SIBUR Holding's transport subsidiary, CJSC SIBUR-Trans. The agreement is for the latest shipment of 150 tankers cars under lease for seven years. The tanker cars, which are produced by Ukraine's Poltavkhimmash, can transport propane, butane and propane-butane mix. The first 20 tanker cars will be transferred to the client at the end of May. The remaining 130 units will be transferred by the end of June. "Through the deal, total number of railcars leased from Brunswick Rail for SIBUR-Trans will reach 760," the company said in a statement. The first leasing agreement was signed by the companies in May 2011.
Brunswick Rail specializes in the operational and financial leasing of railway cars. The founders of the Brunswick Group own 24.4%, MRIF - 15.1%, IFC - 13.2%, Sumitomo - 12.2%,
VTB Capital Private Equity & Special Situations - 7%, UFG Private Equity - 5.6%, another shareholders - 22.6%. The company's fleet includes over 22,000 of its own railcars (72% are half-cars, hopper cars - 15%, boxcars, tankers and platforms - 13%). The average age for the company's railcars comes to 4.6 years.