In 1834 the Cherepanov brothers, engineers from the Nizhny Tagil Iron and Steel Plant, built Russia's first steam locomotive.
Two years later the first electrified suburban section of the Baku-Sabunçu railway was put into service, marking the beginning of commuter-train production.
In 1932, the first electrified railway through the Surami Pass opened and the first Soviet mainline electric locomotive was put into service.
The experimental ring is intended to testlocomotives, multiple units, coaches, track elements and other equipment.
The All-Union Scientific and Research, Planning and Design Technological Institute on Electric Locomotives Building (VELNII) is a subsidiary of Transmashholding.