Russian Railways (RZD) has placed a nearly €1.1bn order with Siemens Mobility and Ural Locomotives, a joint venture (JV) of the Sinara Group and Siemens, to procure 13 high-speed Velaro RUS trains.

The latest order follows the initial contract for eight Velaro trainsets with Siemens Mobility in 2006, as well as an additional eight vehicles in 2011.

The latest contract includes maintenance services for the trains for 30 years. Following the delivery, the Velaro RUS trains will be maintained at the Siemens Mobility depot in St Petersburg.

Siemens Mobility CEO Sabrina Soussan said: “The fact that RZD is relying on Siemens Mobility for the third time in expanding its high-speed fleet reflects the strong performance of our Velaro platform, which increases value sustainably over the entire lifecycle, enhances passenger experience and optimizes availability.

“The Velaro has already proven its reliability in Russia after covering more than 50 million fleet kilometres since 2009.”

The high-speed trains will operate between Moscow and St Petersburg, bolstering passenger capacity on the 650km-long line.

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The Velaro train, known as Sapsan locally, is designed to operate under extreme temperatures in Russia.

Each of these Sapsan trains can accommodate around 550 passengers.

Siemens president and CEO Joe Kaeser said: “The Moscow-St Petersburg route is already one of the most efficient high-speed connections in the world.

“We will continue to work together to expand this network and thus make an important contribution to the development of modern infrastructure in Russia and create qualified jobs in the country.”

Recently, Siemens Mobility won another contract from TriMet in the US to carry out mid-life overhaul services for its type-two and type-three light-rail vehicle (LRV) fleet.