KYIV. July 24 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrzaliznytsia is interested in projects to modernize ChME3 and 2TE116 series locomotives and purchase two railroad substations.
The potential projects were discussed during a meeting with the head of the commission on reorganization, acting director of Ukrzaliznytsia Oleksandr Zavhorodniy, and representatives of the RfW State Bank of Germany in Kyiv on Tuesday, Ukrzaliznytsia’s press service has reported.
“Railways today are in technical default. It is negative for development, but, on the other hand, we have time to better understand our technical policy and to direct financial flows to the most important projects with maximum efficiency,” Zavhorodniy said.
Railways workers are interested in investment support and despite the fact that the industry is starting to change its technical policy, they try to stabilize the operation of locomotives park and activate its work on economic parameters, Zavhorodniy said.
“Because earlier the components for repairs of the locomotives were delivered from Russia, now there are difficulties with the deliveries of the components. So, we are working on elimination of such dependency and securing repairs of the locomotives by our own means,” Zavhorodniy said.
In particular, this concerns an investment program to upgrade 10 2TE116 and 20 ChME3 locomotives. The payback period of the upgraded ChME3 locomotives under the best conditions is up to eight years, and almost six years for 2TE116.
The participants in the meeting also discussed the next investment project on purchasing two adjustable railroad substations. These stations would be bought to provide reliable power supply for railroad section linking Yampil, Siversk, Sil, Chervony Lyman, Sloviansk, where power generation equipment has been damaged due to the ongoing conflict in Donbas.
A visit by representatives of the German bank to Dnipropetrovsk Diesel Locomotive Repair Plant, where the locomotives are to be upgraded, is expected to take place in the near future.
In turn, the representatives of Ukrzaliznytsia assured the bankers that a feasibility study and detailed project budget will be presented within a month.
