Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) will add 300 new wagons to its freight fleet: 200 platform wagons for container transport and 100 semi-wagons, suitable for transport of aggregates and special cargo. ADY’s rolling stock renewal strategy aims to boost the growing traffic along the Middle Corridor and the INSTC.
The container wagons have a load capacity of 72 tonnes and an expected service life of 32 years, ADY specified. The special wagons will have a 70-tonne capacity limit and a slightly shorter life-span of 22 years. “The new freight wagons with high technical indicators will be operated in transit freight transportation both domestically” and along the Middle Corridor and INSTC arteries in Azerbaijan, the company added.
Other than new wagons, ADY is investing in modernising its locomotive portfolio. By 2022, the company received an order of 40 electric locomotives from French manufacturer Alstom. More recently, it purchased seven diesel mainline locomotives from the Chinese CRRC. “In the next stage, it is planned to include 14 mainline locomotives in the fleet”, Azerbaijan Railways pointed out.
