UB Railway back posting profits

Russian Railways Vice President Vadim Morozov told the recent meeting of Ulaanbaatar Railway that the Russian government’s decision in 2009 to transfer its stake in the company “to the beneficial ownership of Russian Railways represented an important step in improving the efficiency of the joint venture railway”. Asserting that Russian Railways “rigorously fulfills all its obligations in terms of technical support” for Ulaanbaatar Railway, Morozov said work on laying 108 km of continuous welded rail track on the Mandal-Davaany line at the end of 2009 had been finished ahead of schedule, which will allow train speeds to be increased to 120 kmh. The State-owned Russian Railways now holds the 50% of the shares that the Russian Government held in Ulaanbaaar Railway, while the other 50% continues to be under Mongolian government ownership.

“Our efforts to stabilize the financial situation of the railway achieved significant positive results for the first time in the first half of 2010. By increasing freight flows by 20% and passenger turnover by 16.8% in this period, year-on-year, the company managed to generate a profit of USD4.3 million. The goal now is to keep this up and end 2010 with a net profit,” Morozov said.

He revealed that USD1.7 billion is planned to be spent on the modernization of the existing network, while a further USD1.8 billion would be required to construct a new rail line to the Tavan Tolgoi coal mine. Another USD500 million will be needed for the modernization and purchase of rolling stock up to 2015.