Russian Railways is obligated to stop using freight cars with railway axles manufactured before 1979.

freight cars with old axles

If the demand is met immediately, tens of thousands of wagons will be taken out of service, informs Railway Supply magazine with reference to Railinsider.

On December 28, 2021 and January 11, 2022, Rostransnadzor issued a reservation to Russian Railways OJSC regarding the inadmissibility of continuing operation on the network of old axles. One refers to the axles produced from 1919 to 1974, 25.9 thousand of which were found on the network, the second – about 1974-1979 (56.5 thousand).

“A typical wagon operated on the network has a maximum axial load of 23.5 tons. But Rostransnadzor notes that according to the state standards that were in force at that time, the maximum static load on the rail from the axles was 20.5–22 tons. It refers to the information of Uralvagonzavod, which produced wagons,” the message says.

It is clarified that Rostransnadzor still spoke about the inadmissibility of the operation of these axles and the cars with them were limited in load. They should be taken out of circulation, but this is not happening: the axle has no service life, so new wheels are put on them and reused.

Interpipe successfully overcome the negative consequences of the Russian embargo

Russian Railways JSC explained that they are consulting with Rostransnadzor and rolling stock operators. These wheelsets are being phased out of service during the overhaul.

JSC “Russian Railways” has the ability to limit the admission to the network of cars with an excess load on the axle. In many cases, including when loading coal and oil, the consistency of the cargo, even with the full use of the volume of the wagon, does not allow reaching an axle load of 22 tons,” the Russian Railways noted.

In addition, the report notes that the total number of cars, the wheelsets of which were produced before 1974, is 82.4 thousand.

As for the second time period (1974–1979), there are 56,000 such axles. This is at least 14,000 cars (if all the axles on the car are old).

Railway news you may have missed:

Axles for railway rolling stock

Find the latest news of the railway industry in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and the rest of the world on our page on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, read Railway Supply magazine online.

Place your ads on webportal and in Railway Supply magazine. Detailed information is in Railway Supply media kit