Baltic States – CIS, Estonia, Good for Business, Railways, Transport

"It will be cheaper for us to assemble the locomotives in our depot than to transport them from Kazakhstan via Russia to Estonia," said oil transit company Vopak E.O.S. board chairman Arnout Lugtmeijer.

"If we manage to assemble locomotives for our company, then we can produce them for other Baltic states too, where nearly 200 diesel locomotives need to be re placed in a few years' time," he added.

Access to Baltic States railways would mean for the American locomotive producer a breakthrough in the European part of the railways that use the Russian rail width 1520. The main target of the company is Russia where thousands of diesel engines need to be replaced.

E.R.S., a railway company that belongs to company Vopak E.O.S, has become the biggest Estonian railway carrier in a few years. It tests till March a new diesel locomotive Evolution TE33A, assembled in General Electric's Astana plant. The company intends to acquire 10-14 new GE Evolution locomotives over the next 2-3 years. The prices of such diesel engines start from a million euros a piece.