OREANDA-NEWS. October 07, 2010. The presentation ceremony took place at the Kazansky Station in Moscow, reported the press-centre of Russian Railways.    

"We have met the future of suburban rail transport in Russia. The standard green electric trains that we are used to have become outdated, and we plan to gradually replace them with trains such as the Lastochka", Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin told the gathering.

A full-scale mock-up of the front carriage has been set up in hall No. 3 of the Kazansky station, giving an idea of the external appearance and interior of this train. Passengers are invited to give their opinions on the quality of materials used in the finishing work, as well as the colour scheme, lighting, seating comfort, carriage layout, information display within the carriage, and many other aspects. For this purpose, special terminals have been set up near the train to gather passengers’ suggestions.

Russian Railways signed a contract with Siemens AG on 17 December 2009 for the manufacture and delivery of 38 Lastochka electric suburban trains (based on the Siemens Desiro-Rus train). The contract is worth 410 million euros.

"The first train arrived in Russia for testing in February 2010. We plan to receive all 38 electric trains by October 2013", Vladimir Yakunin said. The Lastochka electric trains are set to be used for the 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi, and on several other lines in central and southern Russia. The Lastochka train will be produced in Germany at Siemens' Krefeld-Uerdingen plant. The train was designed on the technical platform of the Desiro train. All 38 trains will be dual-system, for use on both AC and DC lines. Each train will have five carriages, and total capacity of more than 850 passengers, including four seats for physically impaired persons. The maximum speed of the Lastochka will be 160 km/h. The auto-brake equipment and traction characteristics will ensure safe use in mountain conditions. The trains have been adapted for use in low temperatures - without additional modifications, they can operate in temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees.

On 21 September at the InnoTrans international exhibition in Berlin, Russian Railways, Seimens AG and Siemens Russia signed a contract for the delivery of 16 more Lastochka electric suburban passenger trains, with the launch of localized production in Russia. Their production will be 35% localized in Russia, and all 16 trains will be handed over to Russian Railways at the end of 2014. Vladimir Yakunin also outlined the company’s plans for further work in renewing suburban rolling stock nationwide. He said an agreement has been reached with Siemens on future joint production of 1200 carriages for suburban trains by 2020. The level of localization should reach 80% by 2017, i.e. the trains will be almost entirely produced in Russia.