Sokol (train)

ES250 (Falcon)
Manufacturer RAO VSM
Formation 6 cars
Capacity 350
Operator Russian Railways
Line(s) served Moscow - St Petersburg
Specifications
Car length 26 m (85 ft 4 in)
Width 3.12 m (10 ft 3 in)
Maximum speed 250 km/h (155 mph)
Weight 356 t (350 long tons; 392 short tons)
Power supply Overhead catenary
Electric system(s) 3 kV DC
25 kV 50 Hz AC
(dual voltage units)
Current collection method Pantograph
Track gauge 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in) Russian gauge

Sokol (Сокол, Russian for "falcon") was a planned high speed train in Russia.[1] It was to be a successor of the ER200 for use on the Moscow–St. Petersburg mainline, and was designed to operate at a cruising speed of 250 km/h. A prototype was built in 2000 and tested by Russian High Speed Railway Shareholding Co.[2]

The Sokol project was cancelled in 2002.[3] Instead of a Sokol-based design, high speed trainsets (named Sapsan) based on the Siemens Velaro were procured from Siemens in Germany.[4] The Sapsan trains have been operating on the Moscow-St.Petersburg line since December 2009.

References

  1. ↑ The all-Russian high-speed train - World Report from International Railway Journal , August 2001 , via www.findarticles.com
  2. ↑ "Sokol can't fly yet". Railway Gazette International. 1 October 2001.
  3. ↑ Андрей Гурьев (2009), Андрей Гурьев И какие же русские не любили быстрой езды? История обреченного проекта (PDF) (in Russian), p. 352, 2002, март — прекращение со стороны МПС по инициативе министра Г.М. Фадеева финансирования проекта «Сокол»
  4. ↑ Murray Hughes (1 June 2005). "Broad gauge ICE3 in sight". Railway Gazette International.

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