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Vladimir Putin visits plant as mass production of regional trains is launched

2013-11-17 Siemens Pressrelease

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the production plant of Ural Locomotives yesterday as the company – a joint venture of the Sinara Group and Siemens AG – began the mass production of the new regional trains which go by the name of Lastochka in Russia. Putin was accompanied by Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Yakunin, President of JSC Russian Railways, Dmitry Pumpyansky, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sinara Group, and Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens AG.

"The Ural Locomotives joint venture between Siemens and our partner Sinara is an outstanding example of the cooperation between our countries – and thus also a prime example of how Germany and Russia can benefit from one another," noted Kaeser. "We're keeping our word with respect to localization and to our investments. Siemens has been, is and will remain a trusted partner for Russia and its companies," he added.

Located near Yekaterinburg, Russia, the Ural Locomotives plant specializes in the production of electric freight locomotives. The Lastochka regional trains (Desiro RUS) are now being manufactured at the plant's new production facility, one of the world's most advanced facilities of its kind. Ural Locomotives is currently implementing an extensive employee training program, as part of which workers and engineers are attending training courses at a Siemens plant in Krefeld, Germany. The new production facility at Ural Locomotives will have around 1,500 employees by 2017.

In accordance with a contract signed by JSC Russian Railways, the Sinara Group and Siemens AG, Ural Locomotives will manufacture 1,200 Lastochka cars by 2020. Plans call for the first nine five-car trains to be delivered and certified by 2014. Thirty Lastochka electric trains will be supplied to JSC Russian Railways in 2015.