Russia: The relevant plans were unveiled by the operator’s Deputy CEO for passenger services Dmitry Pegov in an interview for the website of the Union of Industries of Railway Equipment.
According to him, it is planned to certificate an ES104 electric train, which will be an analogue of Lastochkas of the ES2G series (the most mass model of this train, more than 160 EMUs are produced to date, as to Railgallery). It should have a domestically produced traction drive: the manufacturer Ural Locomotives (part of Sinara Transport Machines) reported last year the plans to launch the production of the component for 2023. The exterior of the head car will be changed as well.
In its turn, the ES105 bi-mode (AC and DC) electric train should be developed and receive approval in 2024 to replace Lastochka of the ES1P model (more than 40 such trains were produced, according to Railgallery).
Dmitry Pegov says that in 2022 considering geopolitical and economic situation Ural Locomotives and its component producers faced difficulties with the delivery of foreign parts. In the first place it goes about the major partner – Siemens, who announced its withdrawal from Russia in May 2022. “In order to continue the manufacture, Ural Locomotives began rapidly to work through the development of new series of Lastochka electric trains with Russian components”, he notes.
ES2G “Lastochka” EMU based on the Desiro platform by Siemens Mobility. Source: Kirill Shirokov/Railgallery
The contract on delivery and maintenance of 1,200 cars of Lastochka electric trains (Desiro Rus platform) was signed by RZD, Sinara Group and Siemens in 2011 with a demand to provide high level of production localisation at Ural Locomotives. It followed the 2009 contract over the previous import of 54 trains (they were named as ES1 model) from Germany. Dmitry Pegov says that today RZD has already received 224 Lastochka electric trains (1,280 cars) of various modifications. STM told the Kommersant daily in spring 2022 that the localisation level of Lastochkas accounted at that moment for 85-87%.
In 2021 Ural Locomotives announced a creation of a new platform for electric trains under the name of Lastochka.Beta with the aim to provide it for urban transportation. Later the project changed its name for Vostok, it was presented in detail at the Innoprom exhibition in summer 2022. At that time the plans were announced to provide possibilities to compose train from 3 to 12 cars, adapt it for various platform height (200, 550, 1,100 and 1,300 mm), ensure acceleration rate up to 1.1 m/s2. The train was said to be ready for testing in May 2023. “It is not an analogue of old trains. We have been preparing to manufacture a fully Russian train for several years and we are carrying out this work now”, the STM press service notes.
In addition, Dmitry Pegov stated that Ural Locomotives are developing at the same time double-deck electric trains for urban and interregional transportation as well as trains with energy storage equipment (the pre-series Vostok train modification with batteries and autonomous operational range up to 125 km was announced by Ural Locomotives to be produced in 2024). The implementation of the unmanned Lastochkas operation with GoA4 is in process as well.
It was reported in November 2022 that Ural Locomotives plan to increase production capacity. Thus, a site development plan was prepared to make it possible to raise the production of new electric trains, including high-speed trains, by more than 35%.
