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German train tested before Sochi Olympic Games

The electric train Lastochka (Swallow), designed by Siemens specialists, is tested on Wednesday on railways of the Russian Black Sea coast

SOCHI, May 30 (Itar-Tass) — The German electric train Lastochka (Swallow), designed by Siemens specialists, is tested on Wednesday on railways of the Russian Black Sea coast. Trains of this type will operate during the 2014 Olympic Games in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi.

The leadership of the Russian Railways Company, specialists from Germany and reporters will be the passengers on train’s maiden trip.

Two years ago a model of that train was on display at Moscow’s Kazansky Railway station. “Thousands of passengers examined the interior of the train, and most of them left only positive comments,” a Russian Railways source told Tass. In its streamlined shape it resembles the Sapsan high-speed train. However, its cars will be a bit wider. The train has multi-colored comfortable seats and display screens will show the route and time.

The first Lastochka was commissioned in January. Within the year the train will undergo all necessary certification tests. This electric train is the first of 38 trains ordered in 2009. In September 2010, the Russian Railways Company ordered another 16 electric trains.

Last September, Russian railway specialists and Siemens signed contracts for the production of 1,200 railway cars for Lastochka and for the servicing of 54 trains of that kind. Starting from 2013, trains will be produced at the Uralskie Lokomotivy joint enterprise of Russia’s Sinara Group and Siemens in the city of Verkhnaya Pyshma in the Sverdlovsk region.

The train is adapted to Russian conditions, and will be able to operate in temperatures lower than 40 degrees below zero. They are also designed for the 1,520 mm gauge.

They will begin operating in Kazan and Sochi in 2013. Then, in February 2014 they will be transporting athletes and spectators to Winter Olympic Games competition sites in the mountains. It is also planned to use them during the 2018 FIFA World Cup that will be held in Russia.

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