St. Petersburg (Sputnik) – The Lastochka high-speed train made its first journey from St. Petersburg to Vyborg on Wednesday.
The Lastochka electric train was designed by Germany’s Siemens on the Desiro platform for commuter operation on Russian railroads. Its maximum speed is 160 km. per hour and its operating temperature ranges from 40 C to minus 40 C. Russian Railways chose Lastochka trains, which run today in several regions, for transportation during the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.
“The Lastochka trains are a breakthrough. They have raised passenger service to an entirely new level in terms of both speed and comfort,” Acting Governor of the Leningrad Region Alexander Drozdenko said at the ceremony of launching the commuter train.
He said that for 1.5-2 months the cost of a ticket on a Lastochka train will be the same as on its predecessor.
Head of the Oktyabrskaya Railway Oleg Valinsky said that experts are considering the possibility of launching Lastochka train service to Volkhov, Gatchina and Sosnovo.
Lastochka trains operate on Oktyabrskaya Railway along two routes: St. Petersburg-Veliky Novgorod-Bologoye and St. Petersburg-Petrozavodsk.
A number of Lastochka trains run by Russian Railways were manufactured by Siemens. Now Uralskiye Lokomotivy (a joint venture of the Sinara Group and Siemens) has started their production. The first Russian train was produced in May. In all, Russian Railways ordered 1,200 cars for Lastochka trains. The project provides for 80 percent localization by 2017, but the partners are already ahead of schedule.
