Knorr-Bremse, RZD and ECRT to develop high-speed trains

Knorr-Bremse, Russian Railways and Russian Engineering Center for Railway Transport (ECRT) have partnered for the development of very high-speed trains for Russia.

The trains will connect the largest cities in the country and operate at speeds exceeding 300km/h.

According to the agreement, the companies plan to ‘establish mutually beneficial cooperation’ that deals with different series such as engineering and consulting, pre-project and design and design development among others.

During the first phase of the project, Knorr-Bremse will provide holistic systems expertise for the assessment of design requirements.

Russian Railways deputy MD and chief engineer Sergey Kobzev said: “Russian Railways has been successfully working with Knorr-Bremse for many years. The signing of this agreement is a new stage in our cooperation and will certainly contribute to the development of high-speed rail services in the Russian Federation.”

Rail Transport Engineering Centre MD Alexander Kireytsev said: “Knorr-Bremse is an expert centre for a number of high-speed train systems. Cooperation with Knorr-Bremse will significantly increase the competence of our Centre’s engineers.”

RZD and Sinara Transport Machines established the ECRT to accelerate rail transportation development in Russia and particularly high-speed rail.

RZD also announced plans to construct a new rail link that will be used for the next generation of very high-speed trains that are expected to begin service in 2026.

The Moscow – St. Petersburg routes and Nizhny Novgorod – Moscow routes are served by 16 Sapsan high-speed trains.

Additionally, 13 more trains are expected to begin service. In April, Knorr-Bremse secured a contract with Siemens Mobility to deliver equipment for 13 Saspan trains for RZD.

The Sapsan trains feature subsystems, which include braking, entrance and HVAC systems, along with windscreen wipers and power electrics provided by Knorr-Bremse.