Sokol (train)

Sokol (Сокол, Russian for "falcon") was a planned high speed train in Russia.[1] It was to be a successor of the ER200 for use on the Moscow–St. Petersburg mainline, and was designed to operate at a cruising speed of 250 km/h. A prototype was built in 2000 and tested by Russian High Speed Railway Shareholding Co.[2]

ES250 (Falcon)
ManufacturerRAO VSM
Formation6 cars
Capacity350
Operator(s)Russian Railways
Line(s) servedMoscow - St Petersburg
Specifications
Car length26 m (85 ft 3 5⁄8 in)
Width3.12 m (10 ft 2 7⁄8 in)
Maximum speed250 km/h (155 mph)
Weight356 t (350 long tons; 392 short tons)
Power supply(?)
Electric system(s)3 kV DC
25 kV 50 Hz AC
(dual voltage units) Overhead catenary
Current collection methodPantograph
Track gauge1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in) Russian gauge

The Sokol project was cancelled in 2002.[3] Instead of a Sokol-based design, high speed trainsets (named Sapsan) based on the Siemens Velaro were procured from Siemens in Germany.[4] The Sapsan trains have been operating on the Moscow–St. Petersburg line since December 2009.

References
  1. The all-Russian high-speed train - World Report from International Railway Journal , August 2001 , via www.findarticles.com
  2. "Sokol can't fly yet". Railway Gazette International. 1 October 2001. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011.
  3. Андрей Гурьев (2009), Андрей Гурьев И какие же русские не любили быстрой езды? История обреченного проекта (PDF) (in Russian), p. 352, 2002, март — прекращение со стороны МПС по инициативе министра Г.М. Фадеева финансирования проекта «Сокол»
  4. Murray Hughes (1 June 2005). "Broad gauge ICE3 in sight". Railway Gazette International. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011.


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