First OVK Wagons For Mongolia

In mid-December 2020, OVK (UWC) announced that it has won an international tender to supply Mongolia with 810 high-capacity gondolas. For the first time in the history, the Russian-built wagons fitted with the 25 t axle-load bogies will be operated on the Mongolian 1,520 mm gauge network.

Six companies, including Chinese manufacturers, competed for the right to supply wagons to Mongolia. In terms of its overall specifications, the 120 km/h Model 12-9853 gondola produced by TVSZ was recognised as the best among the bids, having a payload of 75 tonnes and a body volume of 92 m³. As a result, OVK has signed a contract with Bodi International, one of Mongolia’s leading groups of companies in finance and banking, real estate and construction, infrastructure and mining industries.

The first batch of 100 wagons will be sent to Mongolia in 2021, and they will be used to transport coal from one of the world's largest deposits, Tavan Tolgoi, to China. Entry into the Mongolian market will not only diversify the sales geography and contribute to keeping OVK’s production facilities busy, but will also help reduce the company's dependence on fluctuations in demand for gondolas on the Russian domestic market.

As reported by Mongolia's National Statistics Committee, the country’s railway deliveries rose to 27.5 million tonnes, or by 7.3 %, in the first 11 months of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. The growth was attributed to increased export shipments, particularly to China, and a rise in transit traffic. Industry experts believe investments currently channelled into the development of coal and iron ore deposits in Mongolia to spur the development of railway projects in the medium term, including those related to procurement of freight stock.