Russia: Felix Vinokur, President of PC Transport Systems (PC TS, a partner of TMH), announced this in an interview with Expert magazine. The manufacturer is also negotiating deliveries to India.
“We will buy a workshop, a plant and we will produce”, the head of the PC TS pointed out. The site is necessary for the Russian company to participate in tenders, since the presence of production in the region is mandatory in a number of tenders to fulfill the requirements of the European origin of the supplier. It is planned to establish production in Europe in the next couple of years, but the bulk of production will remain in Russia. PC TS is currently the largest tram manufacturer in the country: according to Expert, in 2015-2021, the share of the manufacturer founded in 2013 in the Russian market was 60%. In 2021, PC TS handed over 147 trams to customers.
The manufacturer has been working towards export development in the past few years. In particular, deliveries to Romania and Serbia are being worked out. At the moment, PC TS has implemented only one export contract: in 2019, 8 single-section 71-911E “City Star” trams were delivered to Daugavpils, Latvia.
71-911 “City Star” tram manufactured by PC TS in the street of Daugavpils, Latvia, September 2021. Source: Christian Grambergs, transphoto.org
The head of PC TS also noted that the company is currently negotiating with customers from India. Felix Vinokur sees great potential in the Indian market. “India, in my opinion, is perhaps the largest tram market. <…> But there is a need to build a plant, and not just one. It is necessary to build a plant for the production of trams, for the production of components there”, he says.
Also in August 2021, it became known that TMH, as part of a consortium, was admitted to a tender for a contract for the construction and operation of light rail lines in Jerusalem, Israel. The contract of maximum €2.5 bln (data from the Vedomosti newspaper) involves the supply of 61 two-section vehicles. Last autumn, Felix Vinokur said in an interview with the Railway Equipment Journal that TMH was entering this competition with a PC TS tram in the proposal. Applications from 6 consortiums, also including CRRC, Alstom and CAF, are due to be submitted this summer.
Felix Vinokur believes that the PC TS tram will be competitive in Europe as of its performance and consumer feat. According to his estimates, the models of the Russian manufacturer are “tens of percent” cheaper than their counterparts from European producers. The other day, PC TS was awarded a contract in St. Petersburg for the supply of 57 low-floor trams: a two-section car will cost 120 mln RUR ($1.6 mln USD), a three-section one – 148 mln RUR ($2 mln USD).
