Director General of South Caucasus Railways: Trains with carriages of  the latest modification will run on the Yerevan-Batumi-Yerevan route

ArmInfo.The new carriages meet all safety, comfort, and, in general, all requirements that are generally possible today. Director General of the South Caucasus  Railways Company Alexey Melnikov said on June 8 at a solemn event in  the Yerevan railway station on the dispatch of new passenger  carriages purchased by the South Caucasian Railway Company at the  Tver Carriage Works for on the first test run.

According to him, these are carriages of the latest modification,  which are currently being produced in the area of 1520 - in the CIS.  "I am pleased that it was me who had the honor to represent these  cars. They are really wonderful and I am sure that our passengers  will fully experience all the comfort that we are able to offer  them," Melnikov said.

At the same time, the head of the SCR stressed that this train will  go on the Yerevan-Batumi-Yerevan route already on June 15, and the  sale of tickets will begin on June 10. According to him, everyone can  use the services of railway transport and go by train to Batumi. "SCR  has done a lot to ensure the safety of train traffic, to replace  rolling stock, to carry out repair work, and finally, the time has  come to replace passenger carriages. This is a significant event. New  carriages, a new page in history of passenger transportation of the  Republic of Armenia," Melnikov said, adding that they, for their  part, will do everything so that a person getting on a train  understands that rest begins with a train, not at sea, but in a  carriage.

At the same time, he stressed that they will continue activities  aimed at improving the work of the South Caucasus Railway. "Next year  it is planned to purchase one more electric train, and this year we  will receive two more EP2D electric trains, which will be here on the  route in the Republic of Armenia by the end of summer," Melnikov  summed up, expressing the hope that joint cooperation will be very  long.

To note, today, on June 8, new passenger carriages purchased by the  South Caucasian Railway Company at the Tver Carriage Works (part of  Transmashholding) departed from the Yerevan railway station for the  first test run. The company has purchased 27 passenger carriages, 20  of which have already been delivered to its disposal. Another 7  carriages will be delivered by the end of June. The new rolling stock  is the most modern serial production of the Tver Carriage Works,  which is part of Transmashholding. It became possible to place a  service area in the carriages with the installation of vending  machines and coffee machines. They are equipped with toilet complexes  with a shower cabin and purifiers for drinking water.  All seats in  passenger carriages are equipped with sockets or USB connectors.

TV sets will be installed in two-seater compartments of model 61-4517  carriages. In accordance with the wishes of the SCR, a special color  scheme is used in the upholstery of the sleeping places. The  carriages will be operated on the routes Yerevan - Tbilisi and  Yerevan - Batumi. A long-term investment loan to pay for the SCR  order was provided by the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB). The bank  provided funds in Russian rubles in the amount of up to 1.2 billion  for a period of eight years. The South Caucasus Railway has been the  concessionaire of the Armenian railway since 2008; over this period,  more than $ 300 million was invested in the country's infrastructure.   The South Caucasian Railway CJSC is a 100% subsidiary of the Russian  Railways OJSC and carries out concession management of the Armenian  railways. The railway infrastructure of Armenia was transferred to  the concession management of the SCR CJSC in accordance with the  Concession Agreement signed on February 13, 2008. The term of the  concession management is 30 years with the right to extend it for  another 10 years.