OREANDA-NEWS. On September 23, 2008 Vladimir Yakunin, the President of Russian Railways, and Heinz Hermann Thiele, the chairman of the supervisory board of Knorr-Bremse, have signed a Memorandum of Intent to establish a joint venture in Russia to produce brake mechanisms. The signing took place in Berlin, reported the press-centre of Russian Railways.

According to the Memorandum, Russian Railways has defined a list of partners with which it will work to produce the brake equipment. For its part, Knorr-Bremse will conduct audits on the production of partners in order to create the joint venture.

To date, Knorr-Bremse has conducted an analysis of possible production locations. Important selection criteria were, above all, the availability of trained professionals and of higher and vocational educational institutions, as well as the distance from major urban centres.

Knorr-Bremse will have a controlling stake in the authorised capital of the new JV, assume the management functions of the new company and set up production, taking into account its own experience in manufacturing high-tech products, procurement, logistics and quality control.

It is planned to expand the capacity of the enterprise to produce automatic doors and air conditioning systems.

The memorandum provides for the establishment of a joint working group which will agree on the details regarding the establishment of the joint venture by December 2008.
 
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Knorr-Bremse specialises in the manufacture of integrated braking systems for all types of rail transport. Since 2006, Russian Railways and Knorr-Bremse have been cooperating on the development of modern braking systems for use on Russia’s railways.

Knorr-Bremse equipment is distinguished by its high reliability, readiness and minimal maintenance throughout the life cycle of rolling stock, which significantly reduces operating costs.

Many Knorr-Bremse components have undergone successful certification in Russia and are in full operation. These components include, for example, screw and oil-free compressors and bogie equipment, in particular, brake disks, compact calliper mechanisms and electronic anti-skid systems. The compact braking system for bogies on freight wagons with axle load of 25 tonnes is currently being tested.

Brake systems, automatic doors and climate systems manufactured by Knorr-Bremse will be installed on the new high-speed Velaro-Rus train produced by Siemens and on Alstom’s Pendolino/SM6.

In the coming years, Knorr-Bremse will be investing EUR 30 million in research and development and adapting technologies.