UrBC, Yekaterinburg, March 14, 2017. Ural Vagon Zavod Corporation’s Ural Railcar Design Office developed Russia’s first semiautomatic coupler that meets the Association of American Railroads’ requirements, the corporation’s head plant’s press service reports.

This draw bar type gets used in railcars and locos in Southeast Asia (Vietnam and Thailand), Africa (the Congo), and Cuba.

‘It took the design office’s automatic coupling device and brakes department one year to design the semiautomatic coupler. The bar meets all the current requirements: this is a semi-automatic Janney coupler with a certain coupler contour that meets the AAR requirements in the given area,’ the press service reports.

The corporation’s new coupler has a coupler contour that is identical to that of an AAR-compliant Janney coupler and the rear part that is identical to that of the regular Russian SA3 coupler. The new coupler that meets the AAR standards can also be used in combination with shock-absorber devices in the so-called 1,520-mm zone, including Russia, the CIS member states, and Mongolia.