Ukrzaliznytsia not ready for grain season – new acting head

JSC Ukrzaliznytsia in 2021 failed preparation for the grain season – only 3,000 out of 11,400 grain carriages of the company are ready, about 2,700 more are in the seasonal reserve, which is already late "to restore," because the season has already begun, new acting Board Chiarman of Ukrzaliznytsia Oleksandr Kamyshin said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

According to him, the rest of the cars "simply did not undergo timely repairs."

"As of July 9, only 15% of the planned repairs were completed, and 85% were failed. Let me remind you that the working fleet in the peak season is 11,400 grain carriers. Alas, it is simply impossible to repair either 3,000 grain carriers or 6,000 required. With gondola cars it is still more interesting – private rolling stock in this category now costs UAH 600-800 per day, Ukrzaliznytsia's gondola cars – from UAH 1,000. At the same time, Ukrzaliznytsia's gondola cars are simply not available," he said.

Kamyshin also said that Ukrzaliznytsia is not ready for the grain season, not only with cars, but also with locomotives. "Moreover, the problem with locomotives arose due to the fact that all the necessary running parts for repairs were not purchased in due time… For example, bandages for locomotives are produced by only one Polish company," the new acting head of the company said.

Source: www.en.interfax.com.ua