Kyiv Metropoliten, the capital’s subway company, has started replenishing its aging fleet of metro cars. The state company formally launched operation on March 11 of the first of more than 100 new wagons that are to be introduced this year.
The new subway car rolled off along the Siretsko-Pechersk line. Company officials said the new cars are more comfortable, safe and efficient than those currently in operation. Russia’s Vagonmash plant will supply the majority of the new cars. But according to investment bank Dragon Capital, domestic producer Kryukiv Rail Car will supply about 25, a contract estimated to generate up to $7.5 million in fresh revenues for the group. Kyiv-based investment bank Astrum cast doubt over how the subway, which posted Hr 210 million in losses last year, could afford such an expansion. Astrum expressed caution over the expansion plans saying that the capital’s cash-strapped subway’s plans to add 100 new cars last year never materialized. Petro Miroshnykov, head of Kyiv Metropoliten said most of the new cars will be obtained via a lease agreement. Financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will help cover some of the acquisitions, he added.
