Rolling stock facility to rise at shipyard in Greece with Korean expertise and US support

A new rolling stock production and maintenance hub is set to rise at a shipyard Greece, which could be a step toward reviving the country’s dormant rail industry. Backed with US investment and with South Korean expertise, ONEX will create a new centre for production, maintenance and upgrade of rolling stock at the Elefsina shipyard, 20 kilometres west of Athens.

Let’s start from the end: the new company’s name will be ONEX Rolling Stock & Integrated Systems (ONEX RSIS). The initiative, as the name suggests, is led by ONEX Technologies Group (ONEX), a Greek-based company known for revitalising abandoned shipyards. The rail expertise will be provided by Sung Shin Rolling Stock Technology, a South Korean rolling stock and component manufacturer which has exported to countries across the world, including in Asia, Africa and South America.

Final assembly in Greece

According to the Greek Reporter and the Greek City Times, the plans involve offering independent maintenance and repair services for private providers, passenger carriage refurbishment, repairs for locomotives, and rapid support for freight fleets. The activities are not specified by the company’s announcement on LinkedIn however, while its official website is currently ‘under maintenance’.

According to the Greek Reporter, the plans for the rolling stock facility involve SKD (Semi-Knocked Down) and CKD (Completely Knocked Down) co-production strategies, meaning the products are manufactured — likely in South Korea — partially or fully disassembled, and then shipped to Greece for final assembly.

It is not the first time rolling stock is produced at the Elefsina shipyard, the Greek Reporter points out that in the mid-1980s, the location produced hundreds of freight rail wagons. ONEX describes the facility as a future international hub for Greece, the Balkans, the Mediterranean and North Africa, which will “restore the railway rolling stock sector in Greece after three decades”.

American investment

Greece and South Korea are not the only countries involved in the project. The plans are “enabled by U.S. financial support”, according to the US Ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle. The ambassador says she is “pleased to see Greece collaborate with Korean firm Sung Shin Rolling Stock Technology to continue the re-industrialisation of Greece and strengthen transportation infrastructure for Greece and our allies”.

The rolling stock element is only part of an upgrade plan for the shipyard, which is aimed at boosting Greece’s geopolitical position.  According to the Athens-Macedonian news agency, the United States contributed a bond loan of 125 million dollars through the state development bank (DFC). Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos said at the signing of the agreement that the Ministry Development guaranteed the financial support with a legal resolution a few months ago.

ONEX said there will be investments for 20 million euros and the creation of 100 jobs for the rolling stock facility. “The initiative dynamically restores the railway rolling stock sector in Greece […], creating a new industrial pillar with an international orientation”, the company underlined.

New manufacturing hubs in Europe

The production of rolling stock in the Old Continent has traditionally been an Eastern European affair, with Poland, Slovakia and Czechia leading the way. However, there have been a few initiatives that suggest how other areas of Europe might want to (re)develop this industry.

Other than this new development in Greece, for example, shipping company MSC and Innofreight recently launched a wagons and bogie manufacturing hub in the Italian port of Trieste. Similarly to what is happening in Greece, the factory in Trieste was opened where there used to be a Finnish company building ship engines.

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