ArmInfo. It is a great honor for the Eurasian Development Bank to participate in organizing the supply of new, modern, beautiful passenger carriages for the South Caucasian Railway Company. Sergey Paseko, Executive Director of the Transport and Infrastructure Directorate of the EDB, said this on June 8 at a solemn event at the Yerevan railway station to send new passenger carriages purchased by the South Caucasian Railroad at the Tver Carriage Works for the first test run.
"This is a project that fully complies with the EDB's mission. It is aimed at improving the development of key transport infrastructure in Armenia. Contributes to the further development of Armenia's integration ties. But, most importantly, it is aimed at improving the quality of services for the transportation of passengers, which in turn improves the quality of life for the citizens of Armenia, "Paseko said.
In turn, Kirill Kornilin, Deputy Head of the Passenger Transportation Department of Russian Railways, thanked the RA leadership for close attention to the railway industry. "Despite the difficult situation in 2020 related to the coronavirus pandemic, the performance indicators of the SCR are in manageable parameters and are stable. And if we talk about the achievements of the 12-year history of interaction, then the indicators here are unique. Passenger turnover has grown almost 2.5 times, ticket sales through electronic services have increased 130 times, the efficiency of using rolling stock has increased, "said Kornilin, adding that now passengers will also receive a completely new product with new quality. The carriages that Armenia received today run on the territory of the Russian Federation in the most intense and passenger-intensive directions, and all passengers using these carriages note the high level of their comfort.
Sales Director of Tver Carriage Works OJSC Vasily Pronin noted that it is a great honor for him to represent the carriages of the plant in Yerevan. "Thank you very much for choosing our cars. We have made every effort to fulfill this order in the shortest possible time. It is very important and significant for us; we hope to continue our cooperation. Transmashholding's products are very extensive, I hope they are will find further worthy application on your land ", concluded Pronin.
To note, today, on June 8, new passenger carriages purchased by the South Caucasian Railway Company at the Tver Carriage Works (part of Transmashholding) departed from the Yerevan railway station for the first test run. The company has purchased 27 passenger carriages, 20 of which have already been delivered to its disposal. Another 7 carriages will be delivered by the end of June. The new rolling stock is the most modern serial production of the Tver Carriage Works, which is part of Transmashholding. It became possible to place a service area in the carriages with the installation of vending machines and coffee machines. They are equipped with toilet complexes with a shower cabin and purifiers for drinking water. All seats in passenger carriages are equipped with sockets or USB connectors.
TV sets will be installed in two-seater compartments of model 61-4517 carriages. In accordance with the wishes of the SCR, a special color scheme is used in the upholstery of the sleeping places. The carriages will be operated on the routes Yerevan - Tbilisi and Yerevan - Batumi. A long-term investment loan to pay for the SCR order was provided by the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB). The bank provided funds in Russian rubles in the amount of up to 1.2 billion for a period of eight years. The South Caucasus Railway has been the concessionaire of the Armenian railway since 2008; over this period, more than $ 300 million was invested in the country's infrastructure. The South Caucasian Railway CJSC is a 100% subsidiary of the Russian Railways OJSC and carries out concession management of the Armenian railways. The railway infrastructure of Armenia was transferred to the concession management of the SCR CJSC in accordance with the Concession Agreement signed on February 13, 2008. The term of the concession management is 30 years with the right to extend it for another 10 years.