RUSSIA: Modernisation of the national wagon fleet was one of the key tasks allocated to Freight One when it was created as a standalone subsidiary of Russian Railways in 2007.

Freight One bought 8 000 wagons in 2009, almost half the total Russian output, and it plans to purchase at least 15 000 this year.

On March 4 it announced contracts for Ruzkhimmash to supply 1 800 tank and 1 800 open wagons during the coming year. 'This new contract with Ruzkhimmash is a continuation of the mutually beneficial cooperation that was established in 2008-09', said Director General Salman Babayev.

'From Mordovia Railway Car Plant we purchased 1 450 cement hoppers in 2008 and about 700 units of rolling stock in 2009, mainly tanks. Taking into account Freight One's rolling stock needs in 2010 and factors such as fleet renewal and the expansion of manufacturing, we decided to step up our co-operation with Ruzkhimmash this year.'