OREANDA-NEWS. Vyksa Steel Works (VSW Open Joint Stock Company, based in Vyksa in Nizhny Novgorod Region, part of United Metallurgical Company, OMK CJSC) has launched Russia's first production line for express and high-speed trains.

The special launch ceremony was held at VSW's solid-rolled railways wheels shop on June 10, 2014. It was attended by Valentin Gapanovich (Senior Vice President for Innovations, Head Engineer of Russian Railways Open Joint Stock Company, and the President of the non-profit partnership - the “Association of Railway Equipment Manufacturers of the Nizhny Novgorod Region”), Nikolay Nikonov (Deputy Minister of Industry and Innovations of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and Head of the Industrial and Innovations Policy Department), and Vladimir Markin (President of OMK). The guests also had a chance to see VSW's promising wheel products, which are to be used on: Russian Railways long-distance passenger cars, the Lastochka electric trains, passenger trains for the Moscow Railway Ring Road, and innovative freight cars. As part of the new production launch, the meeting of the Committee for Coordinating Metallurgical Complex Manufacturers (part of the Union of Railway Equipment Industries) took place in Vyksa.

The capacity of the new line is 10,000 wheels per year. It will fully cover domestic market demand for high-speed train wheels. A total of 580 million rubles have been invested into this project. The high-speed Lastochka trains (Desiro Rus project), which operate between Sochi resorts, will be the first to use VSW's new wheels.

“Setting up the production of wheels for high-speed trains at VSW is OMK's substantial input towards the federal project to develop high-speed railway connections and to increase the share of localized hi-tech products in Russia. We are happy to have such an opportunity, and we are ready to fully meet the demand of Russian Railways, our strategic partner, for high-quality wheel products,” said OMK President Vladimir Markin at the launch ceremony.