High-speed rail in Russia

High-speed rail is emerging in Russia as an increasingly popular means of transport, where it is twice as fast as the regular express trains between Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

First, the track and safety infrastructure was upgraded, then in 1972-1975 new aluminum cars with pneumatic suspension bogies, RT-200 (Russkaya Troyka) were designed by TVZ in Kalinin, Russia.

It was put into service on the Moscow-Leningrad line and with due troubleshooting done during 1979-1987 its maximum speed reached 200 km/h allowing to shorten the journey by one hour, to 4 hrs 20 mins.

Further development of RT-200, Nevsky Express train of TVZ pulled by Czech ChS-200 locomotive, entered into commercial service in 2001, connecting two major cities in 4 hrs 10 mins at 200 km/h.

However, extensive use of the railway infrastructure for high-speed use required shifting of all freight trains to longer alternative tracking, and many local commuters in St.Petersburg, Moscow and Tver areas to be canceled or change schedule.

Overall, the feeling is widespread that the new service benefits the country's moneyed elite, while severely inconveniencing the majority of the population in the regions through which the railway runs.