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.
Since June 1963 the MoscowâÂÂLeningrad line (ca. 650 kilometers) was serviced by a day train (Avrora) that offered a 5 hr 27 min ride with speed peaking at 160 km/h; faster speeds were not possible with heavy steel carriages and existing bogies.
Development of the higher speed passenger railway service in Soviet Russia started in 1965. First, the track and safety infrastructure was upgraded, then in 1972âÂÂ1975 new aluminum cars with pneumatic suspension bogies, RT-200 (Russkaya Troyka), were designed by TVZ in Kalinin, Russia. These cars were originally supposed to be a hauled by experimental turbojet motor cars, but unfortunately this propulsion system was deemed unfeasible so the trainset was hauled by with the Czechoslovak locomotive ChS-2 and its later development ChS-200. At the time, the ChS was the fastest locomotive in the Eastern Bloc. Tests confirmed the trainset was capable of 220 km/h speed on the route, although in practise these speeds were not reached while in commercial service.
By 1973 a completely new integrated trainset, the ER-200 EMU, was designed and assembled at RVR, in Riga. It was put into service on the MoscowâÂÂLeningrad line and with due troubleshooting done during 1979âÂÂ1987 its maximum speed reached 200 km/h, allowing the journey to be shortened by one hour, to 4 hrs 20 mins. Since the early 1990s its ageing parts have required extensive repairs, yet still it remained in service until 2009.
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. It was planned for retirement, but instead was renovated, provided with newer EP-20 locomotive of Transmashkholding and remains in service as the lower-cost alternative to Sapsan.
After an attempt to build a fully domestic high-speed (250 km/h) integrated trainset (Sokol) in 1993âÂÂ2004 had proven a failure, the government signed an agreement with the German Siemens to supply Velaro trainsets, adapted to the Russian railway environment. EVS1 Sapsan entered into service in 2009 and by 2024 fifteen Velaro sets were in service between Moscow and St Petersberg, forming the high speed Saspan service.
However, due to the extensive timetable of the Saspan service, freight services had to be moved to longer alternate routes, and many local commuter services in the St. Petersburg, Moscow and Tver areas had to be canceled or have schedule changes to accommodate the Saspan service. Thus a project to build a new dedicated high speed rail line was revived and as of 2024, construction is underway.
In February 2010, RZD announced that it would unveil proposals in March 2010, for a new "European standard" high-speed line between St Petersburg and Moscow. The new line would be built to Russian gauge and would probably be built parallel to the existing line. At an event on 1 April 2010, it was announced that the new MoscowâÂÂSt. Petersburg high-speed line would allow trains to run at speeds up to . The total journey time would be cut from 3h 45m to 2h 40m. The new line was expected to make extensive use of bridges, tunnels and viaducts. Finance would be provided by a public-private finance vehicle. The line was expected to carry 14 million people in its first year, with capacity for 47 million passengers annually. Representatives from many other high-speed lines were to be consulted, in an effort to avoid construction delays and design flaws.
Apart from faster travel times, the new line would increase capacity, since the current line is congested and there is only room for a limited number of high-speed trains. It would also improve safety, since trains currently pass some level crossings at .
In November 2021, it was reported that the government was abandoning the proposal in favour of possible upgrades to the existing line.
By 2023, the project was revived and by March 2024 construction had commenced.
Since the Sapsan service between Moscow and St Petersburg shares tracks with regular passenger trains and freight trains, it has been widely reported that its introduction has resulted in the cancellation of a number of more affordable long-distance passenger and commuter trains, and long delays for many other trains that continue to run. Moreover, the numerous level crossings along the line have to be kept closed to road traffic for longer for the high-speed trains than for regular ones (the crossing is closed 15 minutes ahead of a fast train passing through); the resulting delays have been criticized by motorists and bus passengers, as well as by ambulance and fire services in towns along the railway. In some small towns dependent on commuter trains for connection with the outside world, and on level crossings for local travel, such as Chupriyanovka (; population 2,500) near Tver, local officials have expressed the sentiment that "our town is cut into two halves for over seven hours each day" and that "we have been cut off from the outside world". 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. As of 2015, the additional tracks for high-speed trains and over-crossings were built.