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Tag Archives: rail operations
Builder’s plates on Russian-built trains
A builder’s plate indicates who built a particular piece of machinery, as well as the the model number, serial number, and date of manufacture. Here are some examples from the rolling stock of the railways of Russia and Ukraine. ЭД4МК […]
Posted in Trains
Tagged Kiev Metro, Nizhny Novgorod, rail operations, Russia, Russian Railways, Ukraine
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Sacrificial buffer stops at Munich Hauptbahnhof
Across Europe a common theme at major railway stations is dead end platform tracks ending at buffer stops, with the main passenger concourse behind. But there was one thing I didn’t realise – sometimes the buffer stops are designed to […]
Russia’s ‘robotic fire-fighting train’
As well as ‘conventional’ fire-fighting trains used to put out the flames anywhere conventional fire trucks can’t reach, the Russian Railways have also started rolling out a fleet of ‘robotic’ trains that can be used to fight fires in railway […]
Posted in Trains
Tagged emergency services, firefighting, rail operations, Russia, Russian Railways
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Track laying trains of Russia
My my journey across Russia by train I came across a curious looking piece of equipment parked in a siding – a track laying machine. Called a Путеукладчик in Russian, here is a similar machine at work laying track for […]
Posted in Trains
Tagged rail operations, railways, Russia, Russian Railways, track machines, trackwork
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Fire-fighting trains of the Russian Railways
Russia’s rail network stretches the length of the country, from cities to mountainous forests. Fires can happen anywhere – even in the middle of nowhere – so the Russian Railways have their own fleet of fire-fighting trains, to put out […]
Posted in Trains
Tagged emergency services, firefighting, rail operations, Russia, Russian Railways
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Inspecting the overhead wires on the Ukrainian Railways
As I travelled across Ukraine by train I noticed a few complicated looking contraptions parked in sidings along the way. With a small platform at the end of a scissor lift, these railcars are used to inspect and repair the overhead wires that power electric trains.
Posted in Trains
Tagged maintenance, rail operations, railway electrification, Ukraine, Ukrainian Railways
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Russia’s three tiers of rail services
Historically the USSR was served by three tiers of rail services: metro, suburban, and long distance. Each operated with a distinct style of rolling stock, even 20 years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, these three families of train are still visible today across Russia.
Posted in Trains
Tagged Elektrichka, metros, Moscow, rail operations, Russia, Russian Railways, Sapsan
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Want a career on the Moscow Metro?
If you have ever wanted to work on the Moscow Metro, going out applying is easy – there are posters scattered all over the network.
Posted in Trains
Tagged Moscow, Moscow Metro, rail operations, railways, Russia, underground
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Traffic lights and Russian trams
Where trams and road vehicles co-exist on public roads, special traffic lights are often provided to give them priority at intersections, and Russian cities are no different.
When bike paths meet a railway level crossing
Recently I asked myself the question – how does a bike path cross a railway? When a road does the same thing, a level crossing has to be built – but I had to look to the Netherlands to see what a level crossing for bikes looks like.