History of the Sapsan Train - Russia's First High-Speed Railway

Why the Name ‘Sapsan’

The developers of the Sapsan train are proud that they’ve created a high-speed train that travels up to 250 km/h. When settling on a name for their creation, they wanted one that conjured lightning fast speed and grace. Those that speak Russian will already know that ‘sapsan’ means ‘peregrine falcon’ in Russian. The peregrine falcon is, of course, the world’s fastest bird. What a perfect name for the train that takes passengers between Moscow and St. Petersburg in under four hours!

Photo by RZD.ru

When Did Sapsan Start?

Recognizing a need in the world’s largest country, in 2006 Siemens partnered with Russian Railways (RZD), to design and create a state-of-the-art, high-speed railway service that would serve Russia’s many travelers, and maintain a service standard similar to its European counterparts. On 7th May 2009, during the Sapsan train’s pilot journey, the crew reached a speed of 290 km/h - a new record for the fastest train in Russia! Shortly after that, in December 2009, Sapsan began passenger service between what’s now known as the Sapsan Moscow, Sapsan St. Petersburg line. It was no surprise that the train service between these two cities was widely popular. Today, Sapsan continues to increase the number of departures and returns to meet the growing demand of its customers.

Controversies

Despite the train service being wildly popular, it has not been without controversy. Shortly after launching in 2009, more affordable daytime trains serving rural communities suffered, because they shared tracks with Sapsan trains. In addition to this, the sheer speed of the Sapsan train requires certain safety measures be taken when the train passes through cities and towns. To protect pedestrians and vehicles that may be near the tracks, train crossings must be closed 15 minutes prior to the train traveling through the intersection. These closings can disrupt traffic, and even hinder emergency service vehicles, if they must cross the tracks en route to a hospital, for example. To remedy this, and maintain the service routes, Sapsan has worked with local authorities to construct bridges and underpasses.

What About the Weather?

It’s not uncommon for train travel to be adversely impacted by weather conditions like rain and wind storms. Even things like fall tree leaves covering the tracks can create conditions that delay train travel. One bright spot, however, is that the Sapsan train has no problem running when Russia’s winter temperatures reach as low as -50 degrees Celsius (-58 degrees Fahrenheit)! Sapsan ticket holders can rest assured cold weather should not disrupt service.

More Information on Sapsan Routes

Sapsan’s first train service, started in 2009, runs between St. Petersburg to Moscow via Tver. This journey typically takes about 3 hours 30 minutes. The second service, started in 2018, runs between St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod traveling through Moscow, Vladimir and the city of Dzerzhinsk. This trip is roughly 8 hours. Of course, travel times are dependent on the number of scheduled stops on the route.
The Sapsan St. Petersburg and Sapsan Moscow train stations are busy places. On a typical day, between 5:30am and 9pm, roughly 10 trains embark from Moskovsky Vokzal and Leningradsky Vokzal. The St Petersburg to Nizhny Novgorod route, on the other hand, sees just one train per day traveling from St Petersburg to Nizhny Novgorod and vice versa via Moscow’s Kursky Station. This train leaves St Petersburg at 5pm and Nizhny Novgorod at 5am.

Upgrading the Sapsan Experience

In December 2019, the decision was made to upgrade the Sapsan train experience. Travelers may now purchase Sapsan tickets for three new classes: Comfort Class, Family Class, and a Suite Cabin. These service and class upgrades are slowly being rolled out through the Sapsan fleet. All trains should be modernized by 2021. You can read more about these changes here.