A Russian arbitration court denied on Tuesday an appeal by Germany's Siemens Mobility, in which it claimed it had no obligation to provide maintenance for 294 high-speed Lastochka trains manufactured by the company at the request of Russia's state-owned company Russian Railways
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th June, 2023) A Russian arbitration court denied on Tuesday an appeal by Germany's Siemens Mobility, in which it claimed it had no obligation to provide maintenance for 294 high-speed Lastochka trains manufactured by the company at the request of Russia's state-owned company Russian Railways.
"Affirm the court decision, dismiss the appeal," the ruling reads.
Earlier this year, Siemens Mobility failed to challenge its obligation to fulfill the maintenance agreement signed with the Russian Railways in 2011. The court ruled that the company had to pay a penalty of over 36.7 million rubles ($437,000) in total for each day of default.
Siemens AG, which owns Siemens Mobility, said in May 2022 that it was withdrawing from all joint ventures with Russian Railways and unilaterally terminating all maintenance contracts due to sanctions, which have made it impossible for the company to fulfill its obligations. Russian Railways said that it would control the maintenance of the Lastochka commuter and Sapsan high speed trains, which had been manufactured by Siemens Mobility.
Russian courts also ruled that Siemens Mobility had to deposit for storage at Russian Railways facilities the tools, spare parts and equipment necessary for the maintenance of the Lastochka trains. Russian Railways said that if they were to be shipped to Germany, it would be impossible to get them back from abroad once the claims were satisfied.
In addition, the Moscow Arbitration Court ruled in October 2022 to prohibit the initiation by Siemens Mobility of legal proceedings before the International Arbitral Centre of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber on contract-related disputes with Russian Railways.
In 2011, Russian Railways, Siemens and Sinara Group signed an agreement for the production of 1,200 electric multiple unit trains, based on the Siemens Desiro design and dubbed Lastochka in Russia. The agreement was worth over 2 billion Euros ($2.1 billion). The companies also signed an agreement for the maintenance of 54 trains worth over 500 million euros for a term of 40 years.
