Gazprom Gazomotornoye Toplivo starts fueling Russian Railways locomotives with liquefied natural gas
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Gazprom Gazomotornoye Toplivo started fueling Russian Railways locomotives with liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the Egorshino station in the Sverdlovsk Region.
The railway station now has a gas fueling depot with cryogenic vehicles (tank trucks specifically designed for LNG transportation) deployed by Gazprom Gazomotornoye Toplivo. The company won a contract through competitive bidding to supply LNG for Russian Railways. The fuel will be delivered on a regular basis from natural gas liquefaction facilities operated by the Gazprom Group. The total contracted LNG amount is 600 tons.
There are three gas-powered vehicles currently in operation within the Egorshino – Serov-Sortirovochny section of Sverdlovsk Railway: a reciprocating gas engine switcher and two main-line gas turbine locomotives.
“The gas fueling infrastructure for the Sverdlovsk Railway system is being set up under our cooperation agreement with Russian Railways to expand the use of liquefied natural gas by rail transport. The plan is to install gas fueling depots along the non-electrified railroad sections,” says Mikhail Likhachev, Director General of Gazprom Gazomotornoye Toplivo.
Background
Production and sales of natural gas as a vehicle fuel is one of Gazprom's priorities. Gazprom Gazomotornoye Toplivo is a special-purpose company focused on systematically developing the NGV market.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas cooled to –162°C and converted to liquid, which takes up 1/600th the volume of gas in the gaseous state. The major consumers of LNG are the motor, rail and waterborne transport industries.
In 2013, Gazprom and Russian Railways signed a Memorandum of Cooperation. In December 2015, Russian Railways adopted a program for 2015–2025 to introduce LNG-powered locomotives within the Sverdlovsk Railway operating area. In 2016, Gazprom, Russian Railways, Sinara Group, and Transmashholding signed the Agreement of Cooperation in the NGV sector authorizing Gazprom to build modern gas fueling infrastructure facilities in locations agreed with Russian Railways and also to fuel rolling stock with LNG.