United Wagon Company and Acron Group, a Russian mineral fertilizer producer, have signed a framework agreement for the supply of 500 new generation of hopper cars for mineral fertilizers.
In accordance with the strategic cooperation agreement, the innovative mineral hopper cars, will be delivered to the Acron Group by the end of the first quarter of 2022.
The hopper car of model 19-9549-03 has an increased body volume of up to 120 m3 and an axle load of up to 25 tonnes. The increased axle load of the model 18-9855 bogie means that the car can be loaded to its full capacity of 76 tonnes which significantly reduces the cost of transporting a tonne of cargo and the fleet size required. The increased axle load is by 6 tonnes larger than in comparison with other similar railcar models.
The hopper car’s body design includes a special dual-component coating, which offers reliable protection for the car from the corrosive effects of transported freight. The hatches are mounted onto adapters, which facilitates their replacement, when necessary.
The new generation of hopper cars will be manufactured at Tikhvin Freight Car Building Plant, which is part of the UWC Group.
The freight cars of model 19-9549-03 has optimal specifications for carrying a wide range of mineral fertilisers. The car has an increased maintenance interval of eight years or up to one million kilometres which is reducing the railcar’s lifecycle cost almost three-fold.
UWC and the Acron Group have been cooperating since 2013. In September 2020, the two companies signed a contract to deliver innovative six-axle hopper car fleet.
The Acron Group is one of the world’s largest mineral fertilizer producers. Its annual volume of cargo transported by rail is about 9 million tonnes per year and is continuously increasing due to the development of its production facilities.
The purchase of another batch of Tikhvin railcars will make it possible to meet the company’s production plan as part of its development strategy by delivering cargo to group’s customers and production facilities on time.
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