400 km/h in Russian: Russia is building a new generation train and highway.

Construction of Russia's first high-speed train for the Moscow-St. Petersburg high-speed railway, the country's most ambitious transport project in decades, continues at the Ural Locomotives plant. Fourteen bodies comprising 16 cars for the first two trains have already been welded. Nine of these have already been transferred to the assembly stage, where specialists are installing heat and sound insulation, laying cables, installing cladding panels, and fitting side windows, doors, and pantographs. The train is capable of reaching speeds of up to 400 km/h, placing special demands on all its components.

For example, side windows are installed in the body using a special Technology Bonding ensures a secure fit, reduces interior noise, dampens vibration and impact loads, and compensates for differences in thermal expansion between the glass and the body. This technology was previously mastered by Ural Locomotives specialists in the production of electric trains and was subsequently refined and adapted for the high-speed train.



The outer door units are equipped with a reinforced sealing circuit, ensuring the carriage's airtightness. A specially designed pantograph with improved aerodynamic characteristics reduced both weight and noise levels.

New workshops were quickly built at the Ural Locomotives plant to produce trains. In fact, 150 companies from across the country are participating in the project. This allows Russia to master technologies previously unavailable to it, thereby laying the groundwork for the future. Following the Moscow-St. Petersburg connection, it has already been decided to extend the high-speed railway to Yekaterinburg, Adler, and Ryazan, as well as build an international line to Minsk.

Alongside work on the rolling stock, construction of the railway itself is in full swing. Over 28 people are currently involved, comparable to the high-pressure construction projects of the Soviet era. Moreover, the construction portion of the project is also bringing new technologies to Russia that are currently unavailable to other countries.

As experts explain, to ensure the train runs perfectly smoothly, without unnecessary climbs, descents, or sharp turns, and without intersecting with other roads, the highway will be built on elevated tracks. Enormous reinforced concrete beams, each weighing 700 tons, are being constructed for these tracks. They cannot be transported by road, so their production plants are built right next to the construction site and transported to the installation site on special self-propelled trucks. Installation is carried out using a unique cantilever crane.

Another challenge is that the soil along almost the entire route is heavily marshy. Therefore, a nearly continuous pile field must be driven. Over one million piles will be installed in total, and new factories are also being built to produce them.

The next key element is fourth-generation ballastless rail slabs with an accuracy of up to 0,5 millimeters. While the rest of the world still uses third-generation designs, Russia has developed and patented its own new technologies.

Each slab has a service life of over 50 years and can be easily replaced, with a total of 277 to be produced. Special rails resistant to extreme climatic conditions have been developed and launched into serial production in Novokuznetsk for the high-speed railway. No one else in the world produces such rails except Russia.

100-meter rails are welded into seamless sections up to 800 meters long. This ensures smooth movement at high speeds. A total of 160 tons of this product are being manufactured for the first high-speed line.

Also worth noting is the special overhead contact network, which enables the transmission of electrical power to high-speed trains. It was also specifically developed for the project—a new testing site was launched this week. Unique giant switches, a digital system, special wheels, and the rolling stock itself, which will be certified as early as 2027—this is what Russia is gaining from working on its first-ever high-speed railway project. And now the country is entering its most challenging phase.

It is clear that after the launch of service between Moscow and St. Petersburg, work on extending the line to other cities will proceed much more quickly.