Türkiye: This June, Winton Industries secured its first certification confirming that its four-axle Uacns powder wagon meets European TSI requirements. The railcar carries a 69 t payload and is built for cement, bentonite, calcium carbide and other bulk cargoes, running on bogies rated for a 22.5 tf axle load. Two carbody versions are on offer, both with an 82 m³ volume — aluminium or carbon steel — and both can be fitted with digital automatic coupling (DAC) and telematics systems.
“We’re entering the market [Europe — Ed.] now because the decision is driven by structural factors, not short-term gain,” Winton Industries CEO Atilla Alakuş told RailMarket. “The International Union of Wagon Keepers (UIP), which accounts for more than 50% of rail freight volume in Europe, estimates that a large share of the wagons built in the 1990s and 2000s are now approaching the end of their service life.”
Tank wagons come first on Winton Industries’ list, Alakuş added, because established tank wagon builders have limited capacity and scaling up is difficult given how these wagons are made. The company is now finishing TSI conformity assessment for its Zacens and Zacns tank wagons, built for liquid and gas cargoes.
“Given a wagon’s typical 25- to 35-year lifecycle, as estimated by UIP, much of Europe’s tank wagon fleet has now reached replacement age,” said Alakuş. “Wagons nearing the end of their service life need to meet the Technical Specifications for Interoperability revised in 2023, the RID rules for dangerous goods, and TSI Noise requirements. At some point, upgrading an old wagon simply costs more than buying a new one — lighter, and fitted with telematics.”
Powder wagon by Winton Industries for the European market. Source: Winton Industries
Winton Industries was founded in 2007 and has grown into one of Türkiye’s leading builders of road tankers for liquefied gas, along with the storage tanks that go with them. The company has shipped more than 4,600 units to over 50 countries and runs a 70,000 m² plant in Ankara with its own accredited test centre. It’s now applying that road tanker know-how to rail vehicles: alongside the Uacns powder wagon, Winton Industries’ website also lists a Zags tank wagon for LNG, with a 117 m³ tank.
Another Turkish freight wagon builder, Gök Rail, is also pushing further into Europe, supplying wagons of various types to leasing companies GATX, Railrelease, and Transwaggon.
