Kazakhstan: The Atyrau Wagon Factory (AWF) is going to reach such production capacity by 2027, as it has been announced by Shota Abkhazava, the factory’s owner and head of the TEXOL Group, in his interview to Forbes Kazakhstan.
“We are the ninth largest country in the world, so the railway transport is meant to be the base of the logistics chains for years to come, considering the distances”, Mr. Abkhazava said about Kazakhstan. According to the data provided by the CIS Council for Rail Transport, the fleet of Kazakhstan amounted to over 137,000 wagons, as of late June 2024.
Freight car production was launched in Atyrau last summer. AWF has already received the manufacturer’s mark as well as certificates for serial production of four-axle gondola cars, container flatcars, and bogies. In addition, the site is going to master manufacturing of tank cars and six-axle articulated flatcars, as it was announced before.
According to Forbes, TEXOL is also building separate foundries to produce small- and medium-sized castings such as springs, brake shoes, roofs, side elements, and other components. Besides, Mr. Abkhazava has also mentioned that the development of the in-house research centre is close to completion. One of the tasks of the centre will be certification of rail products.
Railway logistics is the main field of activity for the TEXOL Group. As the Forbes data say, the Group has about 10,000 wagons in possession, and a total of 1,500 freight cars under management. Additionally, TEXOL has its own car-repair depot (over 5,000 cars were serviced there in 2024), and workshop for rail wheelset maintenance.
