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Russian Railways Begins Trials of "Sapsan" High-Speed Electric Train.

"On 28 February, the new "Sapsan" high-speed electric train made its track debut, traveling between Lyuban and Metallostroy stations (Oktyabrsk railway – a branch of Russian Railways(RZD)) at a speed of 140 km/hour", said RZD Senior Vice President Valentin Gapanovich.

"This was a trial to test the train’s braking system. These tests could not be conducted in Germany due to the absence of a 1520 mm-gauge line. Sapsan is performing very well on the Russian gauge: it moves almost soundlessly, with smooth acceleration and braking" said the train’s chief designer Andreas Lipp.

In the near future, the train’s undercarriage and electrical systems will be checked by taking it up to a speed of 275 km/hour, which is 10% over its maximum operating speed.

The trials will also include running tests in two other areas: first, the train will be tested crossing points, and then the designers will see how it performs when switching from DC to AC power supply and back again.

The trials are planned to run until December. In late 2009, Sapsan will carry out its maiden scheduled journey from St.Petersburg to Moscow with a traveling time of 3 hours and 45 minutes.

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Sapsan is a high-speed electric train in the Velaro RUS series manufactured by Siemens Transport Systems. It can reach a top speed of 250 km/hour.

RZD signed a €276 million contract for delivery of 8 Velaro RUS trains with the Transport Systems Department of Siemens AG in May 2006. In April 2007, a 30-year contract worth €354.1 million was signed for technical maintenance of the trains.

The trains will serve the Moscow - St.Petersburg and Moscow – Nizhniy Novgorod routes, cutting the journey time from Moscow to St.Petersburg to 3 hours and 45 minutes (compared to 4 hours and 30 minutes today).

The first of the new trains is to be handed over and put into commercial operation in December 2009, with the remaining units to be delivered in 2010.