LocoTech Group received a new locomotive maintenance centre (LMC) at Luzhskaya station serving the port of Ust-Luga, the largest Russian sea port at the Baltic Sea. The test operation of the facility has begun.

Alexander Lubyagov, Deputy Head of the Traction Directorate of the JSC Russian Railways, Andrei Melnichuk, Acting Director of the North-Western Branch of LocoTech-Service, representatives of the Oktyabrskaya Railway, construction and contracting organizations opened the new LMC.

The locomotive maintenance centre at Luzhskaya station will become part of the service locomotive depot (SLD) St. Petersburg Sortirovochny-Vitebsky of the North-Western branch of LocoTech-Service. 

Construction works have been carried out by the RZhD STROY company. Over 800 million rubles were invested by OJSC Russian Railways for the construction. 

The new LMC will carry out technical maintenance of the Russian Railways shunting locomotives operating at Luzhskaya station, as well as train cars that bring trains with cargo to the port of Ust-Luga. It has been constructed with consideration of the length of the 3ES4K Donchak three-section locomotives, which are operated at the Babayevo-Luzhskaya line. In addition, it is able to accept machines of VL10, VL15, 2TE116 series of all indices. The 2ES6 Sinara and 2ES10 Granit electric locomotives will also be able to be serviced.

The Luzhskaya station, a fundamentally new infrastructure facility of the Russian Railways, is a single technological complex of several fleets. Thrusting of cars on a shunting hump may be carried out automatically without a driver, which will be possible if a corresponding amendment is made to the regulatory framework. The task of Luzhskaya station is to service the port of Ust-Luga, the renovation of the Mga - Weimarn and Weimarn - Luzhskaya lines has been completed in parallel with the construction of the station. Their capacity has been significantly increased, and electrification has also been completed.