Think Railways

St Petersburg Metro has awarded OOO VAGONMAŠ company, part of Škoda Transportation group, a RUB 3.8 billion (EUR 54.6 million) contract for the delivery of eight modern six-carriage metro trains  to operate on local line No. 3.

“The Saint Petersburg company OOO VAGONMAŠ from the Škoda Transportation group was declared the winner of a tendering process and a contract should be signed in the coming days. This contract allows us to follow up on our previous delivery of nine six-carriage NeVa trains, which are already successfully operated. We thereby confirm that our products are of high quality and competitive, and they contribute to the renewal of train fleets also in large cities around the world,” said Tomáš Krsek, chairman of the board in the Škoda Transportation company.

The new metro destined for Saint Petersburg meets not only all safety standards, but it is also equipped with new technologies and, last but not least, it improves the comfort of passengers. One of the main advantages of the trains is their significantly lower weight in comparison with the existing carriages of the Russian design. This is because the metal sheet panelling of the body is formed of lightweight aluminium sandwich panels. In addition, the carriages can use an energy recuperation system during braking and they are therefore able to save up to thirty per cent of electrical energy compared to the trains in operation today. The metro trainsets will be manufactured by the OOO VAGONMAŠ company in Saint Petersburg.

The metro cars are equipped with audio-visual information system and CCTV system with data recording guarantees safety of the passengers and the driver, energy recuperation system during braking. One of the main advantages of the trains is their significantly lower weight in comparison with the existing carriages of the Russian design, due to the metal sheet panelling of the body formed of lightweight aluminium sandwich panels.

According to the contract, the first train should be delivered in 2015, two more trains in 2016 and the remaining five trains in 2017.

The history of the manufacturing project of the new metro goes back to 2007 when the prototype of the carriage was developed. The first carriage of the modern train was introduced already in July 2009 in Saint Petersburg.