OREANDA-NEWS. October 18, 2011. Freight One’s Moscow branch has been holding meetings with shippers who have kept cars out of service for too long.

Freight One cars are sometimes kept for up to 20 days longer than is necessary for loading and unloading on the Moscow Railway, which leads to a significant slowdown in the turnover of cars and, as a consequence, shortages of them.

For example, more than 450 cars were kept idle too long on the Moscow Railway in August, the bulk of such cars being concentrated at Peteleno, Vnukovo and Chemskoy stations.

After holding negotiations with shippers, the branch demanded payment of fines totaling more than 5 million rubles from twenty companies. Branch Manager Alexander Donkin says the measures are aimed at making car use more efficient, reducing shortages of them and guaranteeing that they are available to customers in the face of growing demand.

The branch guarantees it will give priority service to customers who consistently return cars on time, while those who systematically exceed the prescribed downtime period will face stricter enforcement of penalties than before.