Russia: This is the target of the development strategy that the TMH plant in Tver has been implementing since the summer with the help of a soft loan that VEB, the country’s largest development institution.
“The horizon of the project includes the production of about 2,000 coaches of the T loading gauge and more than 1,000 double-deck coaches in new design”, TMH’s official announcement reads.
A line of single-deck coaches of the T loading gauge will be put into serial production (see rendering). The increased dimensions of the coach itself significantly expand the interior, allowing for longer sleeping berths. These coaches will be built under a long-term contract signed in 2019 between the TMH plant in Tver and the Federal Passenger Service Company. Over seven years, up to 3,700 coaches are expected to be delivered.
The new double-deck coaches have also been improved, including in terms of repair intervals, which now require maintenance after a longer run of 25,000 km. In October, Aleksandr Loshmanov, Deputy General Director for Passenger Transport Development at TMH, told ROLLINGSTOCK that his company was developing push-pull coaches at the request of Russian Railways (RZD). Dmitry Pegov, Deputy General Director and Head of the Traction Directorate at RZD, in turn, announced this summer that the trains are expected in 2027 and that they plan to put 82 push-pull trains of eight double-deck coaches into service on various routes.
The development strategy of the TMH plant in Tver includes the production of more than 600 cars of the Ivolga 4.0 EMU with three-door intermediate cars. Previously, Mr Loshmanov said that the project would enable the plant to build at least 350 cars for Ivolgas per year. The demand for this rolling stock is expected to be met by the growing traffic of the Moscow Central Diameters and their expansion into the surrounding regions.
The project of the TMH plant in Tver development totals almost RUB 9.4 bln ($96 mln), with an investment phase of three years until June 2027. The loan from VEB covers more than 75% of the project costs and its favourable terms will be valid for 15 years.
