DJJ Starts The Assembly Of ENR Coaches

On 13 November 2020, TMH Hungary has started the final assembly of the first four passenger coaches for Egyptian National Railways. The first ones are due to start operation in Egypt in February 2021. In total, 680 vehicles will roll out of Dunakeszi works, the remaining 620 cars are being manufactured by TVZ in Russia.

As first step, 96 third-class cars with dynamic ventilation will be built at Dunakeszi, using subassemblies supplied from TVZ. The term „subassembly“ means the carriages with not completed interior, which are by road sent to the DJJ factory for their finishing. The final assembly there includes the installation of the control panels for the train attendants, seats, luggage racks, toilets and water supply system, as well as part of the electric cables and switches. The bogies (built at TVZ for this batch), brake system, coupling equipment and buffers are also installed at the Hungarian facility.

At DJJ the 1,435 mm gauge wheelsets are being fitted with the axle-gearboxes, and then they are sent do Tver for using in the bogies. A first batch of 110 wheelsets was delivered to TVZ in August. Later, Dunakeszi works will also perform the bogie assembly based on the components delivered from various suppliers.

In a second phase starting in 2021, third-class HVAC passenger coaches will be manufactured in Dunakeszi. The plant will receive empty bodyshells from Tver and will complete interior walls and floor cladding, isolation, lamp installation, and painting in addition to final assembly. Gradually, the production of coaches in Dunakeszi will ramp up to reach 25 units per month by mid-2021. Subsequently also the air-conditioned third-class and second-class carriages will be built at DJJ.

As part of the transfer of technologies between Russia and Hungary, the Hungarian ENR project team took part in a two-week training programme at TVZ to get familiar with the production, testing and commissioning processes.

Since the acquisition of DJJ by TMH Hungary in June 2020, the new management has been focusing on preparing the site for the transfer of production of ENR coaches. During this period a project team was formed, the technical documentation and drawings were provided, the logistics chain was restructured, and the necessary parts were procured. TMH Hungary has also started searching for domestic suppliers and localising parts to meet the 51 % of Hungarian content requirement. The necessary procurement processes are also under development.