Sergey Paseko: The project for the renewal of SCR passenger carriages  fully complies with the EDB mission

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.