Russian Railways unit to set up grain subsidiary

State-owned Russian Railways said Wednesday (August 13, 2008) that its subsidiary First Cargo Company would set up a company to transport grain jointly with the Russian Transportation Company, or Rustranskom.

The First Cargo Company will hold 51 percent in the new company, called Rusagrotrans, while Rustranskom will hold the remaining 49 percent.

The First Cargo Company is expected to contribute 7,997 grain cars with a value of over 3.8  billion rubles (US$156 million) to the charter capital, while Rustranskom will provide about 3.7 billion rubles (US$152 million).

Almost a third of Russian grain is transported by rail.