UWC to Supply 101 Ammonia and Methanol Tank Cars to Shchekinoazot
United Wagon Company has entered into a series of agreements with chemical company Shchekinoazot. The two parties have agreed for UWC to supply 101 tank cars suitable for transporting liquid bulk chemical freight. Shchekinoazot will receive this rolling stock order by the end of March 2019.
Ammonia and Methanol Tank Cars
UWC will supply two different tank car models to Shchekinoazot. Firstly, it will supply 66 tank cars type 15-6880 for the transportation of methanol. Secondly, it will supply 35 tanks cars type 15-6926 for the transportation of ammonia.
The 15-6880 methanol tank cars have a payload capacity of 73t and a tank volume of 88 cubic metres. The 15-6926 ammonia tank cars meanwhile have a payload capacity of 60.2t and a tank volume of 92.7 cubic metres. UWC says that these figures demonstrate that its tank cars outperform its typical market competitors.
Furthermore, both models only need scheduled maintenance every 1 million kilometres (or every eight years), which massively cuts down the cars’ life-cycle cost.
The All-Union Research and Development Centre for Transportation Technology developed the two models. TikhvinChemMash manufactured them. Both of these are UWC companies.
Shchekinoazot’s Previous Acquisitions from UWC
This is not the first time Shchekinoazot has acquired rolling stock from United Wagon Company. Under an operating lease contract it obtained 80 hopper cars for mineral fertilisers. It also purchased 295 tans cars for chemical freight. UWC is pleased that its fleet has proven highly efficient. Transport expenditure per ton of freight is down, as are operational costs for maintenance because of the cars’ increased payload capacity. As a result, Shchekinoazot is able to use the funds saved to renew its fleet.
Counting these new contracts, Shchekinoazot will have a total of 396 UWC cars.
Eugenia Khomyakova, Director General at Transport Directorate SPA Azot, said:
“For several years now the company has made robust efforts to renew its fleet of rolling stock, and the fleet of 295 tank cars previously acquired from UWC has been in active operation on the Russian Railways network and in the territories of neighbouring countries. Due to the significant growth in volume of goods produced and transported as rail freights, the company is seeking to acquire new generation rolling stock in order to provide high levels of efficiency and maximum reliability. Our experience of working with UWC has shown that the supplier cares about the quality of its products, can meet its manufacturing deadlines, and is able to find the most convenient solution possible for each of its clients. We care about producing high-quality chemical products and ensuring that they are delivered safely to customers, and so choosing the right supplier for our rolling stock is hugely important to us.”
