The train was transported by road to Latvia. From there, it was taken by rail. This year and next year, 15 new electric trains will be transported to Estonia in a similar way. The international logistics company EWSA, which chose Operail as its transport partner in Estonia, is the forwarder for this project.
"It was clear from the outset that this was going to be one our most complex and significant projects in Estonia," acknowledged Vassili Zavoronkov, CEO of EWSA.
The transport of new trains has its challenges. Unlike normal freight, these trains cannot yet drive themselves, but neither can they be loaded onto wagons like normal freight. "The train's air braking system and electronics are new - untested and unused, and they have to reach the buyer in this original state," Vassili Zavoronkov explains.
The electric passenger train and the diesel freight locomotive have different coupling devices. Kirill Spektor, Oprail's sales manager for freight transport under special conditions and coordinator of the Škoda project, explains that special adapters were used to couple the electric train with a Scharfenberg automatic coupler to a diesel locomotive with an SA-3 automatic coupler. According to calculations, it was decided to place exactly five empty freight cars behind the electric train to ensure the train's braking power, as the brand-new braking system of the electric train could not yet be used. The adapters made it possible to connect the automatic couplers of the locomotive and the wagons, as well as the air network.
From 2024 to 2026, EWSA and Operail will transport 15 more Škoda electric trains to Estonia for Elron.
