United Wagon Company and the TEXOL group, one of Kazakhstan’s largest railway operators and freight car fleet owners, have signed a contract on the supply of 400 articulated tank cars for the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). This articulated tank car design is revolutionary, with no other model on the CIS market able to match its technical and operational standards.
The 15-9541-01 tank car models are to be subjected to test operation with their performance continuously monitored in the TEXOL’s fleet. The cars transport freights from Irkutsk Oil Company ranking among Russia’s largest independent oil and gas producers.
The design features of the articulated car enables significant savings in the transportation of freights, especially on long routes without depots. The tank car has a boiler volume of 163.13 and a payload capacity of 90 tons, which allows the fleet size to be reduced by more than a half compared to standard LPG cars.
The unique design of the tank car consists of two boilers connected by an articulated joint able to sustain increased lateral and vertical loads. With a car length of 24 metres, the articulated joint design ensures unobstructed passing of both a single articulated car and an articulated car connected to standard cars along straight and curved sections of track, including those with small radii. As the location of the boiler fittings matches that of standard 12-metre cars, UWC’s articulated cars can be easily serviced at standard terminals.
The six-axle tank car is equipped with a 25 t axle load bogie, and a bogie- mounted brake system for a safe and efficient braking. Maintenance and repairs of UWC’s freight cars in the 1520-mm gauge area are performed at a wide network of servicing centres including facilities located in Kazakhstan.
Sergey Gorsky,
a member of the Board of Directors of TexolTrans:
Starting to ship freight in articulated cars represents a huge breakthrough for the entire rail freight industry. Operating these revolutionary cars will bring a raft of advantages to each party involved in the transportation process, from the freight owner to the owner of the rolling stock and the railway infrastructure operator, and, therefore, the popularity of these cars will most certainly grow. We are extremely pleased to see the operation of articulated cars in the 1520 area go international as soon as it commences involving Tikhvin railcar manufacturers, Irkutsk oil workers, and Kazakhstan’s railmen.
Vladimir Asmakovets,
Commercial Director of Irkutsk Oil Company:
Irkutsk Oil Company is the first and to date the only company in Russia to commit to using these articulated tank cars for transporting liquified gas. We understood the benefits of using these cars immediately. Irkutsk Oil Company and TEXOL have signed a contract on the long-term lease of 400 articulated tank cars. This will fulfil the transportation needs of the Yaraktinsky field’s entire production.
