National freight operator Operail has completed its exit from the leasing business, selling its last 1,036 wagons in February and March. More than 40 companies were invited to participate in the sale of the fleet, while 20 chose to make offers at various stages. This was reported by Railway Supply magazine, citing Railway Gazette.

Operail

Operail began leasing 1520 mm gauge freight cars in 2001. The business expanded when Russian transit traffic dwindled after riots caused by the removal of a Soviet war memorial in Tallinn in 2007.

DB Rail Network Performance and Capacity Improvement Plan

Operail said wagon leasing had been its most profitable business activity for the past six years, with income totalling €68m in 2017–22. The return of 212% per year on average in 2017–22 was 38% more than foreseen in the initial business plan.

The government decided to exit the wagon leasing business in 2016 as the private sector was deemed to meet the country’s needs and the process began in spring 2021. The original plan was to privatise Operail Leasing, but after a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, this was abandoned in favour of an asset sale.

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