The Lastochka (Ласточка, “Swallow”) is a German/Russian commuter intercity electric multiple unit train used across multiple Russian cities, based on the Siemens Desiro design and manufactured by Siemens and Ural Locomotives.
ES2G-07201 in Andronovka station (Moscow)
In 2009, Russian Railways commissioned Siemens to develop a suburban dual-system electric train adapted to Russian conditions. The new trains were planned to be used in Sochi for suburban passenger traffic during the 2014 Winter Olympics and then to be partially transferred to other train lines with non-stop service routes.
Interior of the ES2G
Previously, Siemens had already produced dual-system Sapsan trains (Velaro RUS) for Russian Railways. The design of the new electric train was based on the five-car Siemens Desiro ML electric train. On 29 December 2009, Russian Railways signed a contract with the German company Siemens for the production of 54 Siemens Desiro RUS electric trains worth €410 million.
ES2G-02704 in Finland railway station (St. Petersburg)
Dual-system trains with automatic system transfer were the ideal solution for amalgamating pre-existing railway lines in the region of the Olympic Games. There, the main railway network operating in flat terrain along the coast of the Black Sea had been electrified with direct current at 3 kV, while the lines built in the mountainous section of Adler – Krasnaya Polyana had been electrified with AC voltage at 25 kV, 50 Hz, appropriate for the steep gradients, and hence much higher power demands.
ES1P-01702. Moscow railway system
Dual-system electric trains allow commuter rail routes covering sections of both DC and AC track with no need to stop at places where the electric power changes. With the technology, the trains are able to run directly from Adler to Krasnodar without stopping at the Goryachiy Klyuch changeover station.
Ural Locomotives (Russian: Уральские локомотивы) is a railway engineering company formed as a joint venture between Sinara Transport Machines and Siemens in 2010. The manufacturing facilities are based at the Ural Railway Engineering Plant in Verkhnyaya Pyshma, which was incorporated into the Sinara Group in 2004.
In October 2004 the plant began collaboration with RZD with the aim of production of electric freight locomotives.
Sinara Group is a Russian investment company founded in 2001 with holdings in the property development, rail transportation and financial services sectors.
