Russian Railways (RZD) has ordered 13 high-speed Velaro RUS trains from Siemens Mobility and Ural Locomotives (a joint venture of the Sinara Group and Siemens AG).
The contract, which is worth about 1.1 billion euros, also includes maintenance of the trains for 30 years.
RZD originally ordered eight Velaro trains from Siemens Mobility in 2006, and it placed a follow-up order for an additional eight trains in 2011.
Joe Kaeser, president and CEO of Siemens AG (
www.siemens.com), said: “By signing this agreement, we are taking our long-standing and highly successful partnership with Russian Railways to a new level.
"The Moscow-St Petersburg route is already one of the most efficient high-speed connections in the world.
"We will continue to work together to expand this network and thus make an important contribution to the development of modern infrastructure in Russia — and create qualified jobs in the country.”
The 10-carriage Velaro trains will help to meet the growing demand on the 650km line between Moscow and St Petersburg, which has the highest passenger volume in Russia.
They are specially designed for Russia’s broad gauge and extreme temperatures (ranging from -40 to +40°C), and they can accommodate around 550 passengers.
They will be serviced and maintained at the Siemens Mobility depot in St Petersburg.