Russian Railways, RZD, will use Talgo trains to expand the capacity on the Moscow-St. Petersburg railway route. Aside from the new service, which started operation on 20 August, Talgo trains will provide an additional service between St. Petersburg and the city of Samara.
The two new services operated will allow the RZD to increasethe railway traffic on the lines, offering a comfortable and safe alternative to air travel, which will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Furthermore, Talgo’s exclusive technologies, such as the lightness and natural tilting of its cars, in addition to its unique system of independently rotating and self-guiding wheels, will help reduce journey times without the need for new investments in infrastructure.
The trains, based on Talgo’s Intercity train platform, have been branded ‘Swift’ by RZD (‘Strizh’ in Russian), in reference to their lightness and the ability to easily run across the curves, up to 25% faster.
The seven Talgo trains in Russia can reach 200 km/h in commercial service and have been operating the Moscow – Nizhny Novgorod route since June 2015 and connecting the Russian capital with Berlin (Germany) since December 2016.
The Moscow-St. Petersburg line operated by Talgo trains was the country’s first main line and was inaugurated in 1851. With a length of 650 km, it is still one of the main railway lines in Russia today, and the second most popular of the Russian railway network. The trains cover the distance between the two cities within 4 hours.
The St. Petersburg-Samara route is about 1,800 km long connecting country’s two main cities with the ninth largest city in terms of population. Founded in the 16th century, Samara is today one of the main technological and logistical centres of Eastern Russia.
The complete route of this Talgo service will take just over 18 hours, compared to the minimum 33 hours of other services.
Talgo has a maintenance base in Moscow of more than 15,000 m2, comprising three tracks of 500 meters long each. At the facility, the Spanish company maintains the trains operated by RZD which have accumulating more than 8 million km.
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