81st Meeting of CIS Wagon Industry Commission Concludes in Saransk

The 81st meeting of the CIS Railway Transport Council's Wagon Industry Commission has concluded its work in Saransk. In the course of its work, participants discussed 46 agenda issues. The final protocol was signed by Roman Khoikhin, Head of the Wagon Industry Management Department of the Central Infrastructure Directorate, a branch of Russian Railways JSC, and the heads of delegations from participating states.

Representatives from 13 countries, including the Baltic States and Georgia, took part in the Commission’s work. Evgeny Shevtsov, Deputy Managing Director of Russian Railways JSC and Head of the Central Infrastructure Directorate, addressed the participants via video conference. He stressed the importance of the meeting for the industry’s future and noted that the adopted decisions will influence the production, maintenance, and modernization of freight cars throughout the CIS.

Key topics on the agenda included: updating regulations governing the manufacture and operation of 11 new types of rail cars; key stages of rail car manufacturing and repair digitalization; developing a Digital Passport system for rail cars and key components; optimizing the size and condition of the rolling stock fleet across the network. Participants noted the constructive nature of the meeting, highlighting that thorough preparatory work by expert groups helped minimize disagreements. The Commission adopted several important decisions aimed at improving the quality of rail car production and enhancing the reliability of rolling stock.

Roman Khoikhin, Head of the Wagon Industry Management Department of the Central Infrastructure Directorate, a branch of Russian Railways JSC:
“Digitalization has become a crucial issue for the industry. Conceptually, everyone unanimously agreed on the need to go digital. This is not a distant goal—by 2026, the use of paper media for recording and storing information on component and spare-part movement during production and repair will be largely phased out in the Russian Federation.”