Russia plans to launch its fastest train...

The train built for Russia by German engineering giant Siemens made its first commercial run between Moscow and St. Petersburg in a record time of 3 hours and 45 minutes on December 18.

"The project to launch a high-speed rail service between Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow is being finalized. We plan to launch the Sapsan [train] from June 1, 2010," Anatoly Lesun said.

He said the project in which 9 billion rubles ($300 mln) had been invested over the past three years should cut the journey time between the two cities to three and a half hours from over five hours.

Lesun said the time left before the June 1 deadline would be spent to "put in condition" the necessary infrastructure.

Sapsan, Russia"s first train capable of travelling at a speed of 250 kilometers per hour (155 mph), has 10 cars, of which two are first class and eight are second class, and can carry 604 passengers.

At present, two Sapsan trains make three runs between Moscow and St. Petersburg

Pages: [1] 2