Swiss Train Manufacturer Halts Production in Belarus
According to Lithuania's Minister of Transport, Marius Skuodis, Swiss train manufacturer Stadler Rail, which had a contract for producing 15 electric and battery trains for Lithuania, will not use any components manufactured at the Minsk plant.
This was reported by LRT.
The Swiss company is already leaving Belarus and will no longer produce anything there, he added.
"No parts made [in Minsk] will be used in our trains," Skuodis said during a parliamentary session on Thursday. "Every transaction is evaluated by the [governmental commission for the coordination of objects important for national security], and the train purchase agreement was approved."
The Swiss company is already withdrawing from Minsk, the minister announced.
"As far as I know, production is no longer being carried out there; the company has left or is in the process of leaving," he said.
Earlier, opposition MP Algirdas Butkevičius expressed doubts about the winner of the tender for passenger trains organized by the state railway company Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, LTG). According to Butkevičius, the Swiss group not only has a company in Minsk but its CEO also maintains good relations with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
LTG Link, the passenger division of LTG, plans to purchase 15 new electric and battery trains from the Polish subsidiary Stadler Rail Stadler Polska for €226.5 million, according to the contract.
As reported by The Gaze, the European Union plans to grant Hungary an exception in its latest package of sanctions against Russia to allow the import of goods and services necessary for the operation of Budapest's metro.
Sanctions, supported by EU member countries, provide exceptions for certain components, including safety glass, specific types of machinery, and certain valves, as well as corresponding technical assistance. These components are necessary for the operation of trains running on Budapest's Line 3 metro.
The metro cars are serviced by the Russian company "Metrowagonmash," which also builds metro trains. In 2017, "Metrowagonmash" renovated the outdated passenger rolling stock depot for the line, but by the end of year, a quarter of them were recalled due to quality issues.