High-speed rail in Russia

Service development

Since June 1963 the Moscow–Leningrad line (ca. 650 kilometers) was serviced by a day train (Avrora) that offered a 5 hr 27 min ride with speed peaking at 160 km/h; faster speeds were not possible with heavy steel carriages and existing bogies.

Development of the higher speed passenger railway service in Soviet Russia started in 1965. First, the track and safety infrastructure was upgraded, then in 1972–1975 new aluminum cars with pneumatic suspension bogies, RT-200 (Russkaya Troyka), were designed by TVZ in Kalinin, Russia. These cars were originally supposed to be a hauled by experimental turbojet motor cars, but unfortunately this propulsion system was deemed unfeasible so the trainset was hauled by with the Czechoslovak locomotive ChS-2 and its later development ChS-200. At the time, the ChS was the fastest locomotive in the Eastern Bloc. Tests confirmed the trainset was capable of 220 km/h speed on the route, although in practice these speeds were not reached while in commercial service.

By 1973 a completely new integrated trainset, the ER-200 EMU, was designed and assembled at RVR, in Riga. It was put into service on the Moscow–Leningrad line and with due troubleshooting done during 1979–1987 its maximum speed reached 200 km/h, allowing the journey to be shortened by one hour, to 4 hrs 20 mins. Since the early 1990s its ageing parts have required extensive repairs, yet still it remained in service until 2009.

Further development of RT-200, Nevsky Express train of TVZ pulled by Czech ChS-200 locomotive, entered into commercial service in 2001, connecting two major cities in 4 hrs 10 mins at 200 km/h. It was planned for retirement, but instead was renovated, provided with newer EP-20 locomotive of Transmashholding and remains in service as the lower-cost alternative to Sapsan.

After an attempt to build a fully domestic high-speed (250 km/h) integrated trainset (Sokol) in 1993–2004 had proven a failure, the government signed an agreement with the German Siemens to supply Velaro trainsets, adapted to the Russian railway environment. EVS1 Sapsan entered into service in 2009 and by 2024 fifteen Velaro sets were in service between Moscow and St. Petersburg, forming the high speed Sapsan service.

However, due to the extensive timetable of the Sapsan service, freight services had to be moved to longer alternate routes, and many local commuter services in the St. Petersburg, Moscow and Tver areas had to be canceled or have schedule changes to accommodate the Sapsan service. Thus a project to build a new dedicated high speed rail line was revived and as of 2024, construction is underway.

From 2016 to 2020 the high-speed railway link between Moscow and Berlin was serviced by Talgo Intercity trainset, initially purchased for the Moscow–Kyiv day express train and abandoned after the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine. In 2020 the Moscow–Berlin connection was discontinued due to the pandemic. Talgo cars were used for regular and high-speed commute between Moscow, Nizhniy Novgorod and Samara, before being stored due to the lack of technical maintenance from the manufacturer, caused by sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.

Upgrades

In February 2010, RZD announced that it would unveil proposals in March 2010, for a new "European standard" high-speed line between St Petersburg and Moscow. The new line would be built to Russian gauge and would probably be built parallel to the existing line. At an event on 1 April 2010, it was announced that the new Moscow–St. Petersburg 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 40m. The new line was expected to make extensive use of bridges, tunnels and viaducts. Finance would be provided by a public-private finance vehicle. The line was expected to carry 14 million people in its first year, with capacity for 47 million passengers annually. Representatives from many other high-speed lines were to be consulted, in an effort to avoid construction delays and design flaws.

High-speed traffic Moscow–Nizhny Novgorod began in July 2010. Two Sapsan trains make shuttle trips between Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow, and one between Nizhny Novgorod and St. Petersburg. The latter route takes 8 hours and 30 minutes, compared to the previous 14 hours. Nevertheless, like the gradual speed increases of Afrosiyob in Uzbekistan, the line is technically not full HSR speed (below 200 km/h); the line has been undergoing upgrades as of 2018. By 2024 extension of St.Petersburg-Moscow line to N.Novgorod has been discontinued.

Apart from faster travel times, the new line would increase capacity, since the current line is congested and there is only room for a limited number of high-speed trains. It would also improve safety, since trains currently pass some level crossings at 250 km/h (155 mph). In November 2021, it was reported that the government was abandoning the proposal in favour of possible upgrades to the existing line. By 2023, the project was revived and by March 2024 construction had commenced.