Think Railways

The first double deck train, out of the 21 ordered by the railway operator Aeroexpress from  Stadler Rail Group  arrived at the capital of Russia and was officially presented to Moscow city officials and the media. The first six-car double deck train arrived from Stadler’s recently built factory located in the outskirts of Minsk in Belarus to the Moscow Depot of Aeroexpress.

Named Eurasia, the new double-deck train can be considered to be a unique one due to its details and absolutely difference from current Aeroexpress rolling stock.Every carbody is equipped with video system of several monitors, electricity points of 220 V and all armchairs can be transformed. The new double-deckers are 3,400 millimetres wide with a height of 5,240 millimetres. The vehicles are designed to cope with the specific Russian climate, which can range from –50 degrees Celsius to +40 degrees Celsius and in this respect are based on the FLIRT vehicles delivered to Finland, Norway, Estonia and Belarus. The trains will have a speed of 160 km/h and have comfortable, bright interiors in two classes (business and economy).

Stadler Rail Group has become a strategic partner of Aeroexpress after participating and winning an international tender in Moscow in 2013. The parties signed contract on May 28 last year. The contract includes the supply of 25 double-decker trains. The first 4 units are produced by the factory of Stadler in Altenrhein, Switzerland, while the remaining 21 are being made in the latest investment of Stadler in Minsk, Belarus. The contract for 118 carbodies is worth in total EUR 685 million (including VAT including 54 carbodies optionally). Aeroexpress purchases trains at its own expense, therewith investing into the development of railway passenger transport. The next stage will include dynamic testing and different strict authority examinations, including tests for winter operation on the test ring in Scherbinka, which are to result in obtaining the homologation. According to the contract, commercial operation of the first train is to commence in June 2015, while the last – 25th train of the delivery – is expected to enter service in June 2016.