Wagon Owners Wait for Laws

29.04.2008 (17:51)

Private rolling stock owners complain of increase of price for rolling stock repair. They wait for changes in wagon repair sector which can hardly take place until the legislative base is improved. Alexey Sannikov, Director on transport logistics of “Mineral Group” considers that there are some problems despite of some positive tendencies in joint work of private companies and OAO RZD. These problems should be solved.

– Mr. Sannikov, do you think, rolling stock owners and customers of OAO RZD can lobby their interests?

– It is a very difficult question. No one asked the opinion of consumers of railway services, when the previous variant of the laws regulating railway transportation activity was passed.

Theoretically, the legislative base developed now should cover all forms of cooperation of a consignor, a wagon owner, an operator, a forwarder and a consignee… And also the locomotive owner working for them, OAO RZD which functions as a carrier owns the infrastructure and the affiliated companies-operators and the directorates providing transport services.

However, I think that it will not be carried out. For example, the project of OAO RZD proposals about amendments to the current Code contradicts the concept of the Federal Law “On amendments to the Federal Law “The Code of the RF Railway Transport”. If all proposals of railwaymen are carried out completely, the quantity of shortcomings in the current law will increase. In my opinion, their project is aimed at the solution of OAO RZD’s corporate problems.

– Could you characterize positive and negative aspects of interaction between OAO RZD and repair enterprises?

– The launch of the Central Directorate on Freight Wagons Repair is a positive factor. We hope for this structure. Unfortunately, the existing system of wagon repair is aimed at high work efficiency with low quality of works and a low wage fund. It would be naive to wait for high return from any, even the most advanced, depot. Especially at the existing growth of quantity of rolling stock both in the general park, and private one. There is only one solution – to sale these depots to effective owners. Besides, there is an urgent problem of lack of spare parts. The wagons of public park are a priority for railwaymen. The private rolling stock stands idle because of lack of details. Thus, acquisition of wagons is unprofitable nowadays.

They don’t pay for themselves during their operating life: the purchase price, expenses on wagons repair, the current maintenance and infrastructure services increase. Our company’s expenses on park repair increased by 135 million rubles in 2007. Silvinit OJSC owns 3,500 units of rolling stock. The company decided to develop its own repair base for optimization of the expenses. Now we provide uncoupling repair on the railway approaches to the enterprise – about 40 wagons a day.

– Is the enterprise getting ready to improve the wagon repair?

– Now we plan to develop a wagon-repair base. We carry on negotiations on depot rent in Kizel where all repair works will be carried out. We will invest 1.6 bln rubles to expand the station Solikamsk (Sverdlovsk railway) and develop the local wagon-repair depot there. This project will be completed in 2010.

Interviewed by Tatyana Ovcharova
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