Operail Leasing, a subsidiary of Operail, gave more than 40 companies the opportunity to participate in the auction, with twenty interested parties submitting their tenders. An analysis of the tenders showed that selling the wagons in several stages was the most financially profitable. All of the lessees are European companies. The wagons are mainly located in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, and the Baltic States. No wagons have been leased to Russia.
In the first phase, 522 wagons located in Ukraine were sold to the Ukrainian company Fortior Capital and to the Estonian company Teslar Trans. The total amount of the transactions was EUR 6.51 million. The war conflict in Ukraine affected the price, as transporting wagons out of the country is currently difficult.
At the end of December last year, Operail concluded a sales contract with two subsidiaries of ATAS, one of the largest logistics groups in Kazakhstan. These companies purchased a total of 410 vehicles. Then last week, a sale contract was concluded with Estonian wagon leasing company Skinest Rail for the purchase of 397 wagons.
Operail started renting wagons in 2001 when it was still part of Eesti Raudtee. In 2009, the wagon rental and freight transport were transferred to a separate company, EVR Cargo (which later became Operail). In 2017, operations were expanded and additional wagons were purchased. Over the past six years, wagon hire has been Operail's most profitable area of business, generating 99% of profits.
“The business was expanded because Russian transit via Estonia shrunk significantly after the events of the Bronze Night and freight transport as an independent business line was no longer feasible. As freight transport is strategically important for the state, we had to find ways to survive from the economic perspective. We sought for alternative sources of income until we would be able to optimise and reform freight transport in Estonia. The media has painted a picture of renting wagons being a ‘Russian business’ for Operail. This is not true, the business was launched for the opposite reason – to reduce the dependence of the transit of goods from Russia,” explained Raul Toomsalu, chairman of the board of AS Operail.
