Tag Archives: Russian Railways

«Саквояж СВ» – inhouse magazine of the Russian Railways

Inflight magazines are a common sight whenever you fly, but the Russian Railways also have give their passengers something to read on long train journeys – inhouse magazine «Саквояж СВ». «Саквояж» is the Russian word for a leather travel bag […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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Funding Russia’s suburban commuter train routes

I’ve written about the three tiers of Russian rail service before – and today I am looking at the middle tier of suburban trains. Known as электри́чка (Elektrichka), they run along tracks shared with freight and long distance passenger services, […]

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Shower and laundry trains for the Russian army

Sitting, dining and sleeping carriages are a common sight around the world. But in Russia the army operates a special type of train – the банно-прачечный дезинфекционный поезд (БПДП). Translated to English, that is the “bath and laundry disinfection train” or “bath on wheels”.

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Moving a nuclear reactor by rail

Plenty of freight is moved by rail, but something you don’t expect to see being moved by train is a nuclear reactor. But in 2016 it did – when the 330 tonne, 13-metre high and 4.5 meters diameter nuclear reactor vessel was transported from the Atommash plant in Volgodonsk, Russia to the under construction Belarusian nuclear power plant.


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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.

Moscow Metro train paralleling the mainline railway outside Киевский вокзал (Kievskiy vokzal) Continue reading

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Danger onboard a Russian train, or just free electricity?

In the hallway of a Russian sleeping train I found this ominous looking sign beside the electrical outlet. Am I allowed to touch it? Is it just for electric shavers? And will it blow up my phone charger if I plug it in?

Power point onboard our Russian sleeping carriage - the ominous looking notice pretty much reads "DEAR PASSENGERS - FREE TO USE!" Continue reading

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