Ural-Based Locomotive Manufacturers May Unite into a Cluster

Locomotive manufacturers based in the Ural region may be united into a Rail Machine-Building Cluster, the Kommersant reports. This idea was discussed in course of the meeting of the Railway Equipment Manufacturers’ Union (OPZT) in Ekaterinburg.

“Most of the plants manufacturing transport machine-building products are based in Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk Oblasts”, OPZT President & OAO RZD Senior Vice President Valentin Gapanovich said. “Thus the manufacturing cluster that would produce state-of-the-art high-quality products for the rail transport has to be based here - in the Ural Federal District”.

Over 20% of all products manufactured in the Ural region are rail-related. Furthermore, establishing a cluster will allow hedging risks as the new Customs Union Technical Regulations come into force in April 2017 - under this document extension of obsolete locomotives’ (over 32 years) life will be banned.