Time to read: 14 minutes(s)

A quick trip from St. Petersburg to Moscow on the high-speed Sapsan train costs between two and a half and thirty thousand rubles. This depends on the class of service. Travel time is three and a half hours. The Sapsan can reach speeds of up to 400 km/h. However, this isn't true in Russia, but on European roads. On the line between Russia's two capitals, it only reaches 200 km/h, compared to the 250 km/h stated in its passport. The reason is poor infrastructure. Simply put, the quality of the track and overhead lines is far from European. Still, by our standards, the Sapsan is fast. However, flying is becoming increasingly difficult for the Sapsan.

Until March 2022, the high-speed train was supplied to Russian Railways by the German company Siemens. Siemens also maintained the trains. After the outbreak of war, the company announced its withdrawal from the Russian market, and in May 2022, it ceased servicing the rolling stock. Both before and after the war, Sapsan trains in Russia were serviced by only one company, located in the village of Metallostroy in the Kolpino district of St. Petersburg.

The head of Russian Railways, Oleg Belozerov, recently saidthat the domestic high-speed train is planned to be launched by 2027.
At the end of last year, Alexander Misharin, chairman of the board of directors of the company Sinara - Transport Machines (an enterprise actively involved in the development of the new train) рассказал journalists that the preliminary design for Russia's first high-speed train has been completed. Many online resources have placed images of the future train.

Will the country have its own trains capable of reaching speeds of up to 400 km/h? How are the Sapsan (an entirely German train) and Lastochka (manufactured in Verkhnyaya Pyshma using foreign components) maintained after Siemens' departure? A NeMoskva journalist spoke anonymously with a source with inside knowledge of the situation.

— What's happening now with the high-speed trains produced by Siemens? And with the Lastochka, which is packed with imported components?

— Fortunately, not a single train has been stopped yet, and today there is not a single rolling stock that could not be operated and maintained due to a lack of spare parts. 

It's no secret that there are components and assemblies that are virtually impossible to localize in Russia; we lack the necessary technology. Currently, they're trying to solve this problem with China, especially with the Sapsan, which has the world's largest high-speed rail network. The Lastochka train should gradually undergo localization (increasing the percentage of parts assembled in Russia). But the timeframe is unclear. I highly doubt localization has yet reached 80%, as Russian Railways claims.

– How long will it take to replace parts due to wear and tear?

— There are 260 Lastochka trains in Russia — 54 are completely assembled in Germany, the rest are assembled in Russia, In Verkhnyaya Pyshma. And most likely, some trains will be subject to technical cannibalism—some will be dismantled to reassemble others. I think the Lastochka trains can be rebuilt using "domestic technology," and the Ural company is already planning to launch production of the new Lastochka ES104 to replace the ES2G. However, little is known yet about the planned number of trains and their components. For the Sapsan, technical cannibalism is definitely inevitable. I think the same is happening in the aviation industry; all those foreign Boeings and Airbuses are also experiencing component problems—it's scary to think about the consequences. Trains operate on the surface, and some parts can be replaced. I think it's possible to fix the Lastochka trains, but I doubt it's possible to fix the problem with high-speed trains.

– Are we not capable of making spare parts for high-speed trains?   

– There are no technologies. Let's take a simple example. A wheelset for rolling stock. Whether it's a Lastochka or a Sapsan. Bearings, axle, wheelset. We can probably produce bearings to some extent, but again, given that these are passenger rolling stock, everything must pass a certain number of tests and inspections, and this takes a certain period, and until that point, we can't put them into production. The supply of bearing components also doesn't last forever. With axles, it's a bit different. Essentially, a wheelset axle is a permanent component, but they also fail due to damage during operation. We can't replace them in principle. It's impossible to manufacture – there are no technologies. It's a solid block of metal with a specific chemical composition, heat-treated and mechanically processed. On the Lastochka, the axle is made by a company Bonatrans from the Czech Republic, for Spasan company  Lucchini RS from Italy. 

Not a single Lastochka or Sapsan train has domestically produced axles—what's the solution? We could probably buy them from China. I don't think the Chinese would be able to manufacture them themselves; they'd likely rely on imported components, since they also buy them for their own trains.

– Do you have any stock of bearings and components?

"Yes, it exists. It was purchased back when Siemens was in charge, and in large quantities. But it won't last forever. It's certainly not a reserve for decades. Perhaps three to five years. This is something we need to address now. Russian Railways management is currently trying to contact suppliers."

– How many Sapsan trains do we have?

There are 20 Sapsan trains in Russia—16 before the war. Then Russian Railways ordered 13 more, but only managed to receive four; the remaining nine hadn't yet begun assembly. Today, these trains operate between Moscow and St. Petersburg. They run less frequently than before, as maintenance intervals have been extended. Every 4000 km, 20000 km, 120000 km, 240000 km, and 480000 km, the train undergoes maintenance, followed by an inspection—a more in-depth maintenance phase. This is normal; it's the regulations. There's concern that components will run out and we won't have time to get new ones.

The Sapsan's bearings will be the same as those of the Lastochka. They wear out at roughly the same rate. But the localization of parts production is much more complicated. While the Lastochka was manufactured in Verkhnyaya Pyshma, the Sapsan is a purely German train. It's like letting AvtoVAZ manufacture Mercedes parts. It's a foreign-made vehicle that requires foreign parts. There are no localized components. If there is any percentage of localization, it's very, very low. The media doesn't even mention this. The media is more focused on our own high-speed train, capable of reaching speeds of up to 400 km/h, but it only exists in pictures so far. No one really knows anything about this train.

Is the new train like the smartphone presented to Medvedev?

"I always remember Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin talking about some rocket on March 1, 2018—it takes off at the presentation, circles the Earth—it's exactly the same thing. At least Dmitry Anatolyevich held a smartphone in his hands. But here, there are only pictures."

– Did they start designing this miracle train after the war started?

– In 2008, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder took Putin on a high-speed train in Germany. And Putin wanted one too. Maybe I'm exaggerating. But that's how I imagine it. And in 2008, we got three trains that were supposed to replace рIzhsky High-speed train "Moscow-Saint Petersburg." At first there were three, then eight. Now the number of trains has increased to 20. An order was placed for 13 more trains, but due to the war, nine of them never even arrived. They weren't even assembled.
Around the same time, since 2008, China has been purchasing Siemens trains. High-speed rail service is being commissioned and adjusted. And during this same period, from 2008 to 2023, China somehow managed to develop and establish its own production of high-speed trains. The Chinese still purchase some complex, high-tech patented components, but in any case, they produce high-tech trains themselves. We don't do that. In China, they're not eager to show us their developments. China has learned, and Russian Railways is just painting pictures.

— What is the lifespan of the Sapsan?

"Sapsan trains are designed for 30 years of service. The first three were launched in 2008, which means the first ones will start to fail in '39. This is despite the fact that they should be properly maintained. Today, some bearings They're made for the Sapsan in Russia. Bearing manufacturer SKF left the country, but the plant remained; it was nationalized. They'll be able to produce bearings, but again, I think it's easy to say to the general public that the plant is still there and will continue to make bearings, but in reality, there's production equipment that also needs to be maintained. There are components used in production—lubricants. For example, the largest chemical manufacturer, WURTH, had its office and part of its production facility in St. Petersburg. WURTH left, but if you take all the chemicals used to service the train, there are dozens of companies. We need to find alternatives. Which ones?

- Some probably appeared...

"Yes, but research takes time—whether one is a good alternative to the other—because the Germans spent 24 years, starting in the late 90s, on the Velaro high-speed train project, perfecting it to perfection, and they had a certain amount of experience. When they left, and we were cut off from all communication with them, we were left with a small amount of documentation, but that's a drop in the ocean."

– What can all this be compared to?

"I think the analogy is direct with civil aviation, because it's the same foreign equipment that needs maintenance. Perhaps civil aviation has stricter regulations and rules. They also benefit from having a huge fleet of aircraft—not 20 trains. However, there are regulations that are constantly being updated and refined—and all of that disappeared along with Boeing and Airbus. It's the same with us. In this regard, we're in a worse situation—there are few trains, and it's simply impossible to find spare parts and other things."

- Well, can we not be afraid for a few more years?

"No, it's not a powder keg yet. Compared to an airplane, the most critical parts of a train are the wheels, the wheel sets, and the undercarriage. They still have their components, and they all have a certain safety margin. And the train, fortunately, isn't in the air."

– So, for now, parts that are produced in unknown places are not being installed?

"No. Russian Railways has regulations for the supply of certain spare parts—for approval for installation on trains. On the one hand, this is bad, since we have a huge time period before something passes testing, but on the other hand, it's a reliability criterion."

- And who gives permission?

"We have enough specialists who can evaluate various aspects. The specifications we had for various spare parts, the development of alternatives, and these alternatives are also produced with expertise. The manufacturer, Siemens, of course, doesn't tell us whether they'll approve it or not. That's the whole problem. We can't approach them and ask for permission."

– And they themselves are not interested in any way?

"Russia is too small a market for them. They won a huge contract in Egypt a few months after the war started—they're paying colossal amounts of money there to establish high-speed communicationAnd in my opinion, Siemens isn't very interested in Russia.

"What if our situation gets worse and worse?" What are the prospects for Russian Railways then? Can we count on our own high-speed trains?

– High-speed trains require such a colossal amount of foreign patented technologies that even if it were possible If we buy them, no one will sell them to us. And no one will allow them to be developed from outside. And Chinese production is tied to European manufacturers. We won't be able to produce trains ourselves. Another option is to buy trains from China. If this doesn't cause any negative reactions in Europe, and our government agrees to it, then it will be possible. gradual withdrawal from service of Siemens high-speed trains and their replacement with Chinese trains.

– It turns out that since 2008, China has been streamlining the production of its trains, but here we are, as always…

"It's like with processors. The investment the government is making now is a drop in the ocean compared to what's needed to develop this industry. We're falling behind."

– How do specialists feel who previously saw how everything developed before the war, and now observe technical cannibalism?

"Overall, after the panic that erupted here in May, when Siemens announced it was leaving, everything reached a point of indifference. Because this is a huge system that was immobilized by the disconnection from the software, from the network. The depot building and the staff remained, but we no longer had the Siemens software. It was network software for accessing German documentation. They simply unplugged it, and that was it. Plus, there were the accounting and storage systems, the warehouse logistics, also unplugged. We've returned to the Stone Age. Initially, after all these events, we printed documents from a flash drive. Those were the days when not a single piece of paper was printed here—everything was electronically via an interface—now we've switched to yellow paper due to a supposed crisis in the paper industry.

- What's the software like today?

"It's pirated, which I haven't seen in a long time. Downloading a Microsoft package from the internet like that—that's just outrageous! Things have improved a bit now; there are still programmers who customized the German software, and they've found a way to develop a stripped-down version with the basic functionality for servicing trains."

– As I understand it, Russian Railways simply “squeezed out” the assets that belonged to Siemens after their departure?

"By court order. To some extent, Russian Railways can be understood here. Because the Sapsan, that beautiful calling card, the main service provider says, 'We can't,' not because of sabotage, but because of logistical problems. There are no other options; Siemens wouldn't ruin its reputation by looking for alternatives, substitutes, or workarounds. As I already said, this isn't Siemens's biggest project, nor its favorite. When CEO Alexander Liberov spoke of leaving, he was already in Germany. The management left within 24 hours, under threat of arrest."

– What did consumers in Russia lose from Siemens’ departure?

Passengers complain about drafts or background noise coming from the panel they're sitting next to. Essentially, the machine is large and complex, but it's serviced in small sections. Passengers are missing out on the fact that all of this was being refined, addressed, and tweaked by the train manufacturer, but now passengers are complaining about drafts due to the lack of proper, high-quality adjustment of the sliding door on the train. It's simply impossible to adjust because we don't have enough documentation and we don't have contact with the manufacturer of these components. Siemens also used other manufacturers. So, yes, there is a draft. Ticket prices haven't dropped significantly. They haven't become more affordable, and comfort has gotten worse.

– That's for now. What will be making noise on trains by 2033?

"Of course, there won't be a bottom. The train has a large safety margin built in, and it's well-oiled. But in the details—yes. Old commuter trains, which experts call "taz" in slang, still run around Russia, and they'll be running for another hundred years. They're reliable. But they're not as comfortable. You won't get from St. Petersburg to Moscow in 3,5 hours, like on the Sapsan or 5 hours on the Lastochka, but you'll get there in 8-10 hours."

Returned to Soviet reliability?

"Unfortunately, no. Re-producing even "reliable" Soviet aircraft and automobiles is impossible. It requires technological development and tooling, which no longer exists, because the technology is long gone, obsolete, and the equipment used to produce it is also obsolete and scrapped. So we're trapped in this situation—we can't produce the old, and we don't know how to produce the new. The only way out is to partner with someone, like China, who can sell their technology."

- Well, we're producing Moskvich!

"We don't assemble it, we slap a little logo on it—it's brought from China, and we bolt the wheels on. Most likely, the logo is also slapped on in China; we just bolt the wheels on. The Moskvich vanished into oblivion along with the factory. There are a lot of videos online about the factory—empty workshops and nothing there." Basically, it's a fake.