Russia: UralVagonZavod Corporation (UVZ) has shared with ROLLINGSTOCK a video showing the manufacturing process of the 12-5991 wagons with semi-rigid couplings at the company’s site in Nizhny Tagil. By the end of last year, the Federal Freight Company (part of RZD) received the whole batch of 40 such vehicles, ordered from UVZ in summer 2025.
According to UVZ, it took several weeks to prepare the assembly line for the production of the eight-axle gondola cars. The plant manufactured two vehicles a day. Soon, the wagons will be loaded with coal on the West Siberian Railway and depart to the Far East.
The 12-5991 Ural gondola cars complying with the 1-T loading gauge were certified last May. In November, they had a pilot run from Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok and were unloaded at the Sukhodol seaport.
Production of eight-axle Ural gondola cars. Source: UVZ
The 25 tf bogies used for the wagons allow for a payload of 151 tonnes, while their volume is 176 m³. The Federal Freight Company estimates that a standard 988 m train made up of the eight-axle Urals is able to transport up to 13% more freight than a train of four-axle gondola cars with an axle load of 25 tf.
