Russia: One of the most significant developments of 2025 was the entry into service of T-gauge coaches on the Krasnaya Strela (Red Arrow in English) service. A further rake of the same type entered traffic at the end of March 2026.
The new-generation coaches were built by the TMH plant in Tver under contract to Russian Railways’ long-distance passenger operator, the Federal Passenger Company (FPC). The latest issue of TMH’s corporate magazine Vektor TMH includes an in-depth feature on the history of the Red Arrow service itself, the design of the new coaches and their entry into service. ROLLINGSTOCK publishes it here in full.
The train’s history
The Red Arrow made its first journey on the night of 9–10 June 1931. It did not take long for the overnight express to earn a reputation as the benchmark for comfortable rail travel.
At the start of the 1930s, the railways were struggling. Newspapers were full of reports of chronic delays, and the system was badly in need of a symbol of change. The Red Arrow, designed to meet the standards of the day’s leading international services, was meant to be exactly that.
The original train consisted of 12 blue coaches. Alongside the familiar compartment and soft-seat coaches, it introduced something entirely new for Soviet passengers: a sleeping coach with two-berth compartments. That was the first appearance of the sleeping coach on Russia’s railways. To create it, the upper berths were removed from standard four-berth compartments and replaced with mirrors and lamps. For the time, the interiors were remarkably refined and compared well with foreign equivalents.
Service on board felt exceptional by the standards of the day. Passengers could spend the journey playing chess or draughts. Buffet coaches offered dinner, which could be sent straight to the compartment. One coach even had a call office, allowing passengers during stops at Bologoye, Okulovka and Malaya Vishera to place calls as far as London and Paris. The Red Arrow quickly became known not only as the country’s most comfortable train, but also as its fastest. It covered the distance between Leningrad and Moscow in 9 hours 50 minutes; ordinary trains needed at least 12.
Before the war, the train also became a testing ground for new technology. In 1933, for instance, it was used to test the first electro-pneumatic brakes. Around the same time, the TMH Plant in Kolomna was developing highspeed steam locomotives specifically for the service.
The Second World War interrupted regular operations, but in the years that followed the train entered a long period of renewal. In 1952, wooden-bodied coaches gave way to all-metal ones. The arrival of TE7 diesel locomotives in the second half of the 1950s, followed by the full electrification of the line by the end of 1962, brought journey time down to eight and a half hours. In the 1960s, the train acquired the deep red livery that would become its signature. Then, from 1976, East German-built Ammendorf coaches joined the consist; the same coaches would go on to serve Party congresses, major festivals and the 1980 Olympics.
The next major milestone came in 2006, when the TMH plant in Tver developed and built a new generation of coaches to mark the Red Arrow’s 75th anniversary. The upgraded train introduced compartments with showers, climate control, video surveillance and refrigerators.
Then, in December 2025, the Red Arrow reinvented itself once again. After a major modernisation programme, it returned to service with innovative new T-gauge coaches, something Russian passenger coachbuilding had not seen before.
Choosing the loading gauge
For decades, passenger coaches in Russia were built to the 1-VM loading gauge, a standard approved back in the early 1950s. It specified a crosssection of 4.598 by 3.100 metres and a length of around 24.5 metres. Those dimensions reflected strict safety and infrastructure requirements. A coach had to negotiate curves safely, clear bridges, tunnels, viaducts and signals, and pass oncoming trains without difficulty.
“For a long time, the industry simply assumed that single-deck passenger coaches could only be built to the 1-VM gauge,” says Mikhail Kupriyanov, Deputy CEO for Technical Policy at TMH Passenger Transport. “People followed that standard almost as if it were untouchable.”
T-gauge coach in the Red Arrow. Source: Vektor TMH
Yet larger gauges have long existed. T-gauge electric trains have been produced for years, including at the TMH plants in Demikhovo and Tver. TMH’s engineers set out to show that the same principle could work just as effectively for passenger coaches.
The project began in 2021. The first stage focused on one basic question: could T-gauge coaches, with a cross-section of 5.260 by 3.380 metres including the air-conditioning unit, run over existing infrastructure across very different parts of the country?
Work was later paused as sanctions and external restrictions forced designers and manufacturers to concentrate on import substitution. The project regained momentum in autumn 2024, after Oleg Belozerov, CEO of Russian Railways, mentioned plans to introduce a new-gauge coach in a report to the President of Russia. The president then issued the relevant instruction, effectively giving the scheme the green light at the highest level. From that point on, work noticeably picked up speed.
Preparing for service
Bringing the new coaches to life meant overhauling production at the plant in Tver on a substantial scale. Backing from the Cluster Investment Platform, together with a concessional loan from VEB.RF, gave the plant the room it needed to carry out the required R&D and modernise its production facilities.
A new automated assembly and welding line was installed for the project, and the low-volume production shop was specially rebuilt around it. As Aleksandr Loshmanov, TMH Deputy CEO for Passenger Transport Development, explains, the line makes it possible to produce bodyshells and roofs with an exceptionally clean finish and consistently high weld quality. It has capacity for up to 500 bodyshell assemblies a year.
Compartment in a T-gauge coach on the Red Arrow. Source: Vektor TMH
The redesign itself went far beyond appearances. Engineers revisited the main structural elements of the coach, including the underframe, sidewalls and roof. The new vehicles also run on bogies fitted with disc brakes, which helps deliver a smoother ride. 2050.Lab, a national centre for industrial design and innovation, worked on the design.
The first prototype, a compartment coach designated model 61-4533, was completed by the end of 2024. On 30 December, coach no. 00001 successfully came through static strength acceptance tests, clearing the way for the certification programme. In total, six coaches were built in preparation for launch.
Compartment in a T-gauge coach on the Red Arrow. Source: Vektor TMH
To prove the new stock in real operating conditions, the coaches were sent on an extended testing journey across the country. As Mr Kupriyanov recalls, the six prototypes passed through very different climate zones. In summer, the train went to Novorossiysk, where engineers checked the electronics, air-conditioning, toilet systems and onboard equipment in hot, humid coastal conditions. Later in the autumn, the coaches travelled to Novy Urengoy, where temperatures fell to -27 °C. They were also tested in mixed consists with conventional stock to confirm compatibility, and worked with different types of locomotives, including AC and DC electrics as well as diesel traction. The results went into the report presented to the acceptance commission, which included representatives of the customer, Federal Passenger Company.
In May 2025, the 61-4533 compartment coach received certification confirming compliance with the Customs Union’s technical regulations. The staff coach followed in November. That opened the way to serial production.
Passenger comfort
Passengers stepping into the new Red Arrow coaches notice straight away that the interior feels different. That is no accident. The layout was worked through with great care, down to the smallest detail, to make the best possible use of the space available.
The most obvious change is in the proportions. The new coach is 73 centimetres longer and 28 centimetres wider. More importantly, the passenger compartment itself has gained almost three metres in length, which made room for a tenth compartment.
The extra width and length also allowed the design team to rethink the berths. Compared with coaches built to the 1-VM gauge, each sleeping berth is now almost 20 centimetres longer.
“As the coach became wider, we were able to make the berths longer and create more usable space between the berth and the partition, so passengers have somewhere convenient to hang their clothes. Each compartment now has its own safe, power sockets, USB ports and wireless chargers built into the table. Passengers in the upper berths also have their own folding tables. It may sound like a small thing, but comfort on a long journey is made up of details like these,” says Mr Kupriyanov.
The climate-control system also received a great deal of attention. The coach uses electric air heating, with heating elements warming the air before it is distributed through the compartment. But the real difference is that each compartment has its own control unit, allowing passengers to adjust the temperature within plus or minus two degrees of the preset level. Some like it warmer, others prefer it cooler. Now it comes down to personal preference, not compromise.
The new coaches introduce a number of other practical improvements too. In older single-deck stock, the toilet and shower shared the same space, which often caused inconvenience: once someone was using the shower, the toilet was effectively out of service. The new coaches separate the two.
Accessible toilet in a T-gauge staff coach on the Red Arrow. Source: Vektor TMH
They also reflect lessons learned during the pandemic. Touch-sensitive buttons and screens reduce the need for unnecessary contact with surfaces. After each use of the toilets and shower, UV lamps automatically disinfect the surfaces inside. Even the area by the platform-side exit has been thought through, with extra lighting covering the two to three metres immediately outside the coaches.
On the outside, the coaches carry multi-line full-colour displays. These show not just the train number and final destination, but additional wayfinding information as well. There are displays inside the vestibules too, showing coach numbers, so that passengers walking to the restaurant coach can always see how many coaches they still have to pass through.
Accessible compartment in a T-gauge staff coach on the Red Arrow. Source: Vektor TMH
“One of the key strengths of the new model is the way personal space has been thought through: individual lighting, 220-volt sockets and USB ports, storage space for personal belongings, and separate folding tables for passengers in the upper berths. There is also a children’s compartment with a bright themed design and an extra-wide berth. In the staff coach, there are now two dedicated compartments for passengers with reduced mobility and their companions, rather than one, as well as a kitchen area,” the Federal Passenger Company representatives note.
Children’s compartment in a T-gauge coach on the Red Arrow. Source: Vektor TMH
The staff coach has its own distinct set of features. Each of the two compartments designed for passengers with reduced mobility includes space for a wheelchair, grab rails, a crutch holder and a call button for the attendant. Information shown on the display can also be heard in audio form at the press of a button. For boarding and alighting, the coach is fitted with new automated lifts that are more compact and more reliable than earlier designs. One of the washrooms has been fully adapted for passengers with reduced mobility. The coach also includes a large galley area equipped for reheating meals, along with a luggage compartment fitted with transformable shelving.
What passengers do not see
Much of what makes the new coaches feel so different is, in fact, invisible to passengers. The biggest gains in comfort, safety and reliability come from technical and engineering changes that TMH teams spent several years developing behind the scenes.
One of the most important is the move to centralised power supply. In the conventional coaches passengers are used to, electricity comes from an underfloor generator that works only while the train is moving. Once the train stops, power switches over to batteries, and those can keep things running only for a limited time.
“With the T-gauge coaches, the whole system works differently. Everything on board—air conditioning, toilets, lighting, charging points, water heaters and boilers—is powered centrally from the locomotive. The electric locomotive supplies 3,000 volts, and the coach equipment converts that into the levels needed for different systems: 380 volts for air conditioning, 220 for sockets and charging points, and 110 for the batteries. As soon as the locomotive is connected, it powers the entire train,” explains Mr Kupriyanov.
The batteries are still there, of course. They are needed for emergency situations, for instance if the overhead supply fails, and also for short periods when the coach is uncoupled from the locomotive. But in normal operation, the coaches draw power from the train network.
The second feature—and in operational terms perhaps the more important of the two—is an entirely new control and diagnostic system. TMH developed the software specially for the T-gauge coaches, linking it to sensors and electrical systems so that every major unit can be monitored in real time. Crucially, the data it generates has made it possible to extend service intervals very significantly.
“To give an idea of the scale of the change: with a conventional single-deck coach, TO-1 maintenance is carried out every day or every 3,000 kilometres. On the coaches that used to run on the Red Arrow before the upgrade, that effectively meant before every trip. With the T-gauge coaches, the interval has gone up to 25,000 kilometres. In other words, they no longer need attention nearly as often as classic coaches. Predictive diagnostics has played a major part in making that possible,” Mr Kupriyanov says.
Compartment in a T-gauge coach on the Red Arrow. Source: Vektor TMH
The predictive monitoring, diagnostic and control system tracks 1,800 parameters across 16 train systems, from the interior climate and axle-box units to the batteries. It does more than flag faults. It can indicate in advance which critical systems or components need checking, and when. Nor is that information available only to the onboard crew. From the service coach, staff can manage systems across the whole train, while FPC’s ground teams and TMH engineers can monitor equipment remotely via a standard GSM mobile link.
“When we developed this coach, we were not simply trying to make it wider, longer and more comfortable for passengers. We also took the train operator’s needs into account, so that the operator would have an automated system capable of handling a larger fleet, showing what is happening with each coach, and helping teams prepare for repairs in advance,” Mr Kupriyanov explains.
That work has brought recognition at several levels. The T-gauge coach received an official opinion from the Agency for Technological Development, an organisation accredited by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade. The document confirms that the coach meets all the criteria set by the Russian government and by GOST standards, and grants it the status of an innovative product in transport engineering.
Entry into service
At 11:55 p.m. on 18 December 2025—the same departure time it had kept unchanged for decades—the newly updated Red Arrow, train No. 001A, set off on its first journey, opening a new chapter in rail travel between the two capitals.
“From the very beginning, the Red Arrow was regarded as the best in every respect: comfort, service, amenities and sheer visual appeal. That status is not going anywhere. For the first time anywhere on the Russian rail network, the train now includes coaches from a new model range built to the T-gauge, complete with a new design. The concept brings together classic elegance and innovation, while the colour red remains at the heart of the scheme. It underlines the individual character of this rail symbol of the two capitals,” the Federal Passenger Company representatives said.
The livery is the most immediately visible change. For the first time since the 1960s, when the express acquired the deep red look that became its trademark, designers have reworked the train’s exterior. Red remains the dominant colour, as it should: for generations of passengers, that is the colour of Train No. 1. But it is now joined by minimalist graphic elements intended to suggest speed and progress.
Inside, passengers will find images of Leningradsky and Moskovsky stations, the two historic termini that dispatch and receive the Red Arrow every day. Along the corridors runs a photographic timeline of the train itself, with images dating back to the 1930s.
EP2K electric locomotive, built by the TMH plant in Kolomna, at the head of the Red Arrow. Source: Vektor TMH
The consist is made up of 12 T-gauge compartment coaches built at the TMH plant in Tver. Two models are used: the 61-4533 compartment coach and the 61-4535 staff coach. As for traction, the Kolomna plant built EP2K passenger electric locomotives specially for the Red Arrow, giving them a unique livery in the same visual language as the train. The locomotives, too, feature a number of innovations, including a video monitoring system in place of conventional rear-view mirrors and modern LED headlights.
“For us, it is both a great responsibility and a real honour that the first T-gauge coaches are entering service on the legendary Red Arrow. We very much hope these coaches will not remain limited to unique premium trains of this kind, but will go into serial production and become widely available across the network. And with them, this new standard of comfort and service can become part of everyday rail travel,” Aleksandr Loshmanov said at the presentation.
Significance of the new rolling stock
These new coaches are more than just the latest rolling-stock upgrade. They are an important part of the railway’s wider battle for passengers. With airlines and private coaches offering ever stronger competition, rail has to give people more than a way of getting from A to B.
“T-gauge helps rail stay competitive. The more comfort we can offer, the more likely people are to choose the overnight train. You feel almost as if you are at home. We have basically created a hotel on wheels,” says Mr Kupriyanov.
At any point during the journey, passengers can use the hot-water boiler and make themselves a cup of tea. The attendant’s service compartment is equipped with a coffee machine, a water dispenser and a microwave. The shower works properly too, regardless of whether the train is moving or standing at a station.
T-gauge coach in the Red Arrow rake. Source: Vektor TMH
At the Federal Passenger Company, they believe the new coaches will be especially well suited to premium overnight services.
“Daytime high-speed services have developed rapidly, but overnight trains continue to appeal to passengers who would rather not lose valuable daytime hours travelling. They also offer the chance to save on a hotel and get a proper night’s rest on the way. The route between Moscow and St. Petersburg is a clear example of that demand: overnight trains there continue to thrive alongside fast daytime services. They are different products aimed at different passenger groups. One of the strongest examples of a successful overnight train is the Red Arrow, which has always enjoyed a loyal following. Every year it carries more than 150,000 passengers between the two capitals. The new T-gauge coaches, with their stronger passenger offering, revised layout and higher capacity, make it possible to carry even more,” the company says.
The Federal Passenger Company is also watching closely to see how passengers respond to the new coaches. Even though the T-gauge fleet has only been in service for a relatively short time, the feedback so far has already been strongly positive.
“Passengers say the new Red Arrow coaches outperform traditional compartment stock both in terms of comfort and design. Most of those surveyed see the new coach as attractive, safe, practical and modern. The improved ergonomics and comfort are the result of new layout solutions. Alongside the longer berths, passengers particularly liked the folding table by the upper berth and the separate shower,” the company representatives said.
In 2025, the Federal Passenger Company took delivery of 12 T-gauge compartment coaches from the TMH plant in Tver, including two service coaches. But this is only the beginning. Deliveries will continue, and by 2027 the operator expects to receive the first sleeping coaches, luxury and restaurant coaches in the new gauge. T-gauge is no longer an experiment. Before long, it will begin appearing on other routes as well.
Based on the article ‘From an icon of its age to a train for the future’ published in Vektor TMH, No 1 (64), 2026
