GE Equipment Services recently provided financing to India’s ETA Engineering Pvt. Ltd. (ETAPL) for the purchase of more than 200 rail cars.
To be built by Titagarh Wagons Ltd., the cars will be used by ETAPL to move containers on the Indian Railways under a concession agreement. ETAPL soon will begin operating container-train service under the brand name FREIGHTSTAR.
The Indian government plans to dedicate a rail corridor to containerized freight, which is expected to quintuple demand for container–carrying cars over the next five years.
In July, GE Equipment Services and GE Commercial Finance acquired a 15 percent stake in Titagarh Wagons and formed a partnership with the Indian car builder under which GE Equipment Services will provide the company financing, operating and monitoring services. Titagarh Wagons is using GE financing to accelerate manufacturing.
Source: Progressive Railroading Daily News
