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New Railway Speed Record Set in Russia.

The Sapsan high-speed electric train has covered the section from Okulovka to Mstinskiy Most at a speed of 281 km/hour.

“Russian Railways is continuing to test the Sapsan high-speed electric train. On 2 May, it traveled from Okulovka to Mstinskiy Most on the Oktyabrsk Railway at a speed of 281 km/hour, which is over 10% faster than its top operating speed. This is the first time that such a speed has been achieved on the Russian railway”, announced RZD’s Senior Vice President Valentin Gapanovich.

According to Gapanovich, Sapsan is performing very well on the Russian rail gauge. The train is virtually silent, with smooth acceleration and braking.

The trials have shown that once in regular service the train will be able to travel at a speed of 200 km/hour, and in some sections up to 250 km/hour. This is the speed at which it will cover most of the 645 km between Moscow and St.Petersburg, or more specifically – the 586 km section between Kryukovo and Kolpino stations. Following modernization of the infrastructure, the speed could increase to 230 km/hour. This will place Russia firmly in the club of countries with high-speed transport”, said Gapanovich.

During the trials Sapsan will be “run in” on two other routes. The train is designed to operate on both DC and AC power supply, and one of the tests will be to determine how well it switches between the two.

The trials are scheduled to continue until November. In late 2009, Sapsan will make its first regular journey on the St.Petersburg – Moscow route, which it should complete in just 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 300 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.