The French company Alstom and CJSC Transmashholding intend to set up a joint venture RailComp to manufacture accessories for the rolling stock with each holding a 50% share in the JV authorized capital.

The joint venture will manufacture basic components for the traction system including accessories for Coradia, Pendolino and railway trucks as well as driving systems and operation control systems. At the first stage, the joint venture will utilize the Novocherkassk electric locomotive building plant which is part of Transmashholding. Investments in this production site will amount to several hundred million Rubles.

The first stage assumes setting up the local production of traction converters for locomotives (passenger locomotive ER20 and freight locomotive 2ES5 developed by the engineering centre Alstom and TMH TRTrans. These electric locomotives will be now manufactured in Novocherkassk. Other components will be manufactured at several other production sites of Transmashholding including Metrovagonmash in Mytishchi.

The manufacture of components is expected to be launched at the same time as the production of Coradia and Pendolino based trains.

It will be recalled that Transmashholding and Alstom had previously established the engineering company TRTrans to develop a suburban electric train project on the Coradia platform. The new electric train is designed for the operation at speeds up to 160 kilometres per hour can include from 4 to 12 cars and operate within the multiple-unit system.

The bodies of the electric trains will be made using corrosion resistant steels, the expected service life being 40 years. The design will include a modern asynchronous traction drive, new carts providing more riding comfort and reduced impact on the railway track as well as a modular driver's cabin.

The prototype model for ED10 should be ready in 2012. The train is being designed as a base platform to support possible new modifications in future.

(Sourced from AK&M)