KIEV, July 16 - LLC Lemtrans, Ukraine's largest private rail freight operator, plans to buy 5,000 new gondola cars for about $350 million in 2012 as part of a comprehensive program to update its fleet, said CEO Volodymyr Mezentsev.

Lemtrans has already acquired 1,185 gondola cars since the beginning of 2012 for more than $82 million, both through financial leasing and using its own funds.