OREANDA-NEWS. On July 30, 2009 President of RZD Vladimir Yakunin, and Alexandr Vasilenko, CEO of Tver Wagon Building Plant (TWZ), signed an agreement on the supply of RIC carriages to maintain passenger transportation on international routes, reported the press-centre of RZD.

According to the signed document, in 5 years RZD will buy 200 RIC dimension carriages made by TWZ. In its turn, Tver Wagon Building Plant takes responsibility for the technical audit of the production system, supervisory and acceptance control of production quality, and ensures the long-term technical post-guarantee maintenance of the carriages. The agreement states that Siemens is the main subcontractor, who shall supply various items of electrical equipment and carry out certification of the rolling stock of this type for international route usage.

The price will be set after the final requirements specification is worked out and the cost of the manufacture localization in Russia is defined.
 
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RIC carriages are used as passenger carriages on the international railroad routes in all European and Asian countries. RIC (Regolamento Internationale delle Carrozze) is an international union on passenger and cargo carriages usage and part of the International Union of Railways (IUR) since 1980. All European railways, including JSC Russian Railways, are IUR members.

Currently, the RZD fleet has 232 RIC carriages which were all manufactured in Germany. Some 80% of these carriages are deteriorating. This is why the construction of new carriages is an important task for RZD regarding the company’s rolling stock renewal.

Until now, RIC carriages have not been manufactured in Russia. In order to support domestic machinery construction, RZD has made a decision to build RIC carriages in the Tver Wagon Building Plant. For the first time in wagon manufacture history, RIC carriages will be constructed in Russia. This year the project documentation for RIC carriage manufacture will be prepared.

RIC dimension carriages made by Tver Wagon Building Plant will meet all the requirements of the International Union of Railways in terms of environmental indicators, level of comfort, fire and traffic safety, etc. Carriages will be able to reach a speed of 200 km/h, and the speed can be increased up to 250 km/h after modernization. The service life of an RIC carriage is 40 years.