Unique high-speed trains and locomotives on the Russian railways

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• published: 20 Sep 2012
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Sapsan (Velaro RUS) is Russian for the peregrine falcon, the fastest bird in the falcon family, so it was an appropriate name for this new train, which can reach speeds of up to 250 kmph. Produced with true German precision by Siemens, the Sapsan is fully adapted to the harsh climate of Russia. The Allegro is equipped with safety features designed to work on both the Finnish and Russian railway networks. Its equipment meets the technical requirements in the EU and Russia. The train consists of 7 carriages and has a maximum operating speed of 220 kph. GT1-001 gas turbine locomotive: on 23 January 2009 this locomotive became the first to pull a freight train weighing 15,000 tonnes (159 wagons), and on 7 September 2011 it set a new world record by pulling a 16,000 tonne train (170 wagons). On 12 October 2009 Russian Railways was awarded a Guinness Book of Records certificate for creating the world's most powerful long-distance gas turbine locomotive operating on liquefied natural gas. Electric locomotive type 2ES10: the first Russian freight electric locomotive of direct current with the asynchronous driving unit. The locomotive was designed by Uralskiye Locomotivy Ltd. in cooperation with the Siemens (Germany) engineering team. The locomotive performance characteristics have no analogues in Russia. On August 4, 2011, the 2ES10 locomotive in the three-unit mode took the 9,000-ton train down the Sverdlosk-Pervouralsk distance of the Sverdlosvsk Railway. It will let the railways work without re-forming and cutting trains' payload and will let heavy trains service of the standard payload running along the Western Siberia-Northwestern Region route. JSC Russian Railways plans to purchase 221 locomotive before 2016. Diesel locomotive type 2TE25A: the freight diesel locomotive with the asynchronous driving unit type 2TE25A was designed at the Briansk Machine-Building Factory in cooperation with the industry research institute VNIKTI using the Russian-made equipment and details. For the first time the diesel locomotive is equipped with the Kolomna Factory assembled diesel with the electronic fuel injection complying to the Euro 3 environmental standards. The locomotive has the bogies with the radial wheel pair arrangement and has better track contact performance. In Masrch 2011 the 2TE25A series engine took the standard 6,000-ton payload train along the Baikal-Amur Mainline proving its high power and economic capacity.