Russia: The company’s press service informed ROLLINGSTOCK that it took one year to develop the trainset for transportation of people and loads in tunnels and mines.
The aim was to construct a compact vehicle that would replace import alternatives and be able to pass tighter curves and narrow tunnels.
Russian Railways (RZD) has received six locomotive-hauled trainsets, produced and completely tested at the Ulyanovsk plant. Mikhail Shekhin, the company’s deputy director for production, said that the on-site 100-metre track with a gauge of 900 mm was built to conduct all the necessary tests.
There are four wagons in each trainset, the drive one, two personnel wagons for 18 people, and two freight wagons. Featuring a payload of 15 t, the vehicle can operate at a speed of 25 km/h. The locomotive is reportedly powered by a 15 kW YaMZ diesel engine from the Yaroslavl motor plant (Russia), with all the other components also domestically manufactured.
