High-speed rail in Russia

High-speed rail is emerging in Russia as an increasingly popular means of transport, although the development of such rails is moving at a slower pace than in Western Europe.

Experimental trainsets built in 1974

Two experimental high-speed trainsets (designed for 200 km/h or 124 mph operation) were built in 1974: locomotive-hauled RT-200 ("Russkaya Troika") and ER-200 EMU. The RT-200 set made only experimental runs in 1975 and 1980 and was discontinued due to unavailability of the ChS-200 high-speed locomotive- they were only delivered later. The ER-200 EMU was put into regular service in 1984. In 1992 a second ER-200 trainset was built in Riga. Both sets remain in service.

Operational

• The Moscow-Saint Petersburg Railway is Russia's highest speed railway with a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph).^[1] The first upgraded 250 km/h service using Siemens Velaro RUS (Sapsan) trains went into service on December 26, 2009.
• Helsinki - St. Petersburg: 200 km/h (124 mph) high-speed service using Karelian Trains Class Sm6 (Allegro) trains started on December 12, 2010, cutting down travel time from 5.5 hours to 3.5 hours. The trains go 200 km/h (124 mph) on most of the Russian part, and 220 km/h (137 mph) on a short stretch in Finland.
• Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod route. The high-speed traffic in Nizhny Novgorod began in July 2010.^[2] Two Sapsan trains makes shuttle trips between Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow and one between Nizhny Novgorod and St. Petersburg. The latter route takes 8 hours and 30 minutes, versus the previous 14 hours.^[3]

New lines in consideration

Russia has the following lines in consideration or under construction:

• Moscow-Kaliningrad: high speed line plan existed previously.
• Moscow-Sochi route: Recently, serious talks with Sumitomo Corporation of Japan for Shinkansen for the Moscow-Sochi route (for Sochi's successful bid for the 2014 Winter Olympics).
• Transiberian Railway : Russia is in preliminary talks with Japan for long term plans to replace the trains on the Transiberian Railway with a Shinkansen derivate. This is seen as a way to greatly reduce transit time for goods between East Asia and Europe as compared with ships.
• New Moscow-St.Petersberg High-Speed Line: In February, 2010, RZD announced that it will unveil proposals in March, 2010, for a new "European standard" high-speed line between St.Petersberg and Moscow. The new line would be built to normal Russian gauge and would likely be built parallel to the existing line.^[4] At an event on April 1st, it was announced that the new Moscow-St.Petersberg high-speed line would allow trains to run at speeds up to 400 km/h (249 mph). The total journey time would be cut from 3h 45m to 2h 30m. The new line is expected to make extense use of bridges, tunnels and viaducts. Finance will be provided by a public-private finance vehicle. The line is expected to carry 14 million people in its first year. Representatives from many other high-speed lines will be consulted, in a effort to avoid construction delays and design flaws.^[5]

According to RZhD Director Vladimir Yakunin, Russia will have several high-speed railroads by 2012 - 2014.^[6] Apart from faster travel times, the new line would increase capacity, since the old line is congested and there only room for a limited number of high speed trains. It would also be a safety improvement, since some level crossings are passed by 250 km/h trains today.

Criticism

Since the Sapsan service between Moscow and Saint Petersburg shares tracks with regular passenger trains and freight train, it has been widely reported that its introduction resulted in the cancellation of a number of more affordable long-distance and commuter trains, and long delays for many other trains that continue running. Moreover, the numerous level crossings along the line have to be kept closed to road traffic for longer for the high-speed trains than for regular ones (the crossing is closed 15 min ahead of the fast train passing through); the resulting delays have been criticized by motorists and bus passengers, as well as by ambulance and fire services in towns along the railway. In some small towns dependent on commuter trains for connection with the outside world, and on level crossings for local travel, such as Chupriyanovka (Чуприяновка; population 2,500) near Tver, local officials have expressed the sentiment that "our town is cut into two halves for over seven hours each day" and that "we have been cut off from the outside world". Overall, the feeling is widespread that the new service benefits the country's moneyed elite, while severely inconveniencing the majority of the population in the regions through which the railway runs.^[7]

References