For clients of the Russian Railways, routes between Moscow and neighboring regional centers are the most popular. The huge metropolis attracts residents of nearby settlements, regions and industrial regions every day.
The train is driven by various locomotives. Photo: youtube.comMany people regularly or periodically travel abroad for work, tourism and recreation. To ensure uninterrupted passenger traffic on the routes between the capital, Samara, St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod, the railway monopolists launched new passenger trains.
The novelty was purchased from the world-famous Spanish Patentes Talgo SL. The cars of the Talgo 9 model with the cheerful name Strizh successfully travel on the roads of Germany and Belarus. The new composition has proven itself well in the harsh conditions of Russia. The unique wheel set design allows it to easily adapt to different track widths.
The latest system of automatic change of movement and angle of the body, pneumohydraulic brakes, enhanced fire safety, high maneuverability and autonomous control, combined with modern forms, promises a long productive life for the new trains. The head cars had to be abandoned, and their locomotives EP20, EP2K and TEP70BS were used as a draft force. On separate hauls, alternating current is replaced by direct current, which is why they have to be replaced.
We thoroughly prepared for the modernization of the rolling stock. In total, seven sets were purchased from Spanish car builders. Each train consisted of eighteen passenger cars and two for maintenance. They were assigned to the Kievskoye depot. By type, the wagons were divided into:
✅ sedentary
✅ coupe
✅ SW
✅ dining car
✅ technical
From Moscow to Nizhny and back
The novelty was applied in several directions. Four trains of twenty cars each were planned for Kyiv in both directions. The Swifts traveled this route for about a year. By the end of 2016, it was abandoned due to a decrease in passenger traffic. A year earlier, trains began moving to Nizhny Novgorod, replacing the Sapsan trains running here. Passengers began to arrive at the terminal station half an hour faster.
There is a special car with an autonomous diesel generator. Photo: youtube.comThe most popular was the morning flight number 703 from Nizhny. Already after 3,5 hours the train came to Moscow. On separate hauls, the Swift accelerated to almost 180 km / h. But despite the great popularity of this flight (more than a million passengers were transported), in March 2022 their movement was suspended. Instead of them, "Swallows" are running around here.
From Moscow to the capital of Germany and St. Petersburg
The Strizh set off on its first international flight at the end of 2016. The route connected the capitals of Russia, Poland and Germany and was very popular with merchants, tourists and students.
First, he departed from the Kursk railway station in Moscow. Subsequently, the Belarusian capital railway station became the beginning of a long journey through three states. The Swifts would have traveled like this for a long time, but the covid pandemic came and the promising European route was closed.
Ergonomic solution: washbasin under the tabletop. Photo: youtube.comA very convenient flight from St. Petersburg to Samara via Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod was used by many residents of these regions. The way there is long and included many stops. It was possible to get to Samara regularly every two days in almost 20 hours. Trains reached the capital's Kievsky railway station with a regularity of four days in 5,5 hours with a stop at Saransk. But since March 2022, traffic here has also been suspended for an unknown time.
