The U.S. Export-Import Bank will provide Ukraine with a loan to purchase 40 diesel locomotives from American manufacturers.
According to Ukrinform news agency, Ukrzaliznytsia CEO Yevhen Lyashchenko said at a press conference on Wednesday that the company had signed a $156 million loan agreement with the Americans for 15 years.
"For this money, we will be able to buy up to 40 diesel locomotives from private American companies," Lyashchenko said.
According to him, the locomotives are likely to be purchased from the Wabtes Corporation, from which Ukrzaliznytsia has already bought 30 locomotives in 2018.
The head of the Ukrainian railway company noted that diesel locomotives are the most efficient locomotives for Ukraine today.
Almost 10,000 kilometres of railway have been electrified in Ukraine, but now that Russia is deliberately destroying the Ukrainian energy sector with missile strikes, there may be problems with the use of electric locomotives, the newspaper notes.
Background. As reported, Ukrzaliznytsia will introduce 18 new container routes across Europe in September. UZ has already launched container trains that transport not only raw materials but also consumer goods.