Russia: The Tver Carriage Works (TVZ, part of TMH) plans to produce 59 cars of various models in the small series workshop in Torzhok, Tver Region, in 2022. Also, one of the blanking division facilities of the Key Systems and Components group (KSC) is operating at the site of the former Torzhok Car-Building Plant.
TVZ reported that the assembly of carriages sets for service and technical support has begun at the site. As Oleg Kremensky, head of the workshop, notes, carriage sets based on 61-4440.02 model have a different level of assembly, from 50 to 90%, depending on the technical specifications of the customer. “The final assembly of the carriages will be provided at the customer’s production site, according to his need”, he says. The announced production plan of 59 railcars is almost twice as high as the production volume in 2021, according to TVZ.
The facilities of the former Torzhok Car-Building Plant were acquired by TVZ in 2019. Earlier, the producer, which was founded in 1916, manufactured small-series carriages in the Soviet years, and electric trains in the 1990s and 2000s, ceased to exist, as in 2016 it was declared bankrupt due to debts. It should be noted that in 1958-1961 the plant was already a branch of TVZ, producing specialized carriages during this period.
In the workshop of small series in Torzhok. Source: TVZ
As TMH reported to the Railway Equipment Journal at the end of 2020, the reconstruction of production in Torzhok is driven by TVZ’s necessity to optimise production lines for the production of passenger rolling stock at the main site in Tver. TVZ implements large orders there: it fulfills a long-term contract with the Federal Passenger Company (part of Russian Railways) for the production of 3.7 thousand passenger carriages in one- and two-stored versions of various modifications, participates in the production of 1.3 thousand coaches for Egyptian National Railways (ENR). Also, TVZ mastered the production of Ivolga EMUs, and in the coming years will have to produce 95 trains in 11-12-car configuration for the Moscow Central Diameters (MCD) under a contract with the Central Exurban Passenger Company (CEPC). In 2020-2021, TVZ produced more than 2,000 passenger carriages and almost 200 electric train cars.
On the other hand, in Torzhok, it is planned to establish a full cycle of specialized carriages production, small series of passengers and service personnel transportation coaches, as well as experimental rolling stock. The carriages assembly began already in May 2020, in November the frame was laid for the assembly of the first body (previously it was delivered from Tver). At the same time a program of large-scale modernisation of the site is being implemented: as noted by the government of the Tver region, the volume of investments over three years amounted to more than 811 mln RUR ($10 mln USD).
Small series workshop in Torzhok, April 2021. Source:The Construction and Production Management company
According to the project, the production capacity in Torzhok should be more than 400 units per year. It is also planned to organize major types of electric trains repairs.
Additionally, KSC is working in one of the buildings of the site in Torzhok: the company established metal blanking production in it, generally for TVZ’s orders. As of the end of 2020, the production of various simple and complex spatial configuration parts made of carbon and stainless steel, galvanized sheet and aluminum has already begun. KSC also allocates significant funds to the development of this production, and the project as a whole assumes a capacity of up to 40,000 t of thin and thick rolled products per year.
