TEST running will begin soon at Egorshino depot in the Sverdlosvsk region of Russia of what is claimed to be the world's first gas-reciprocating-engine locomotive.

RUSSIAN Railways (RZD) plans to increase capital investment by 7% from $US 11.4bn this year to $US 12.2bn in 2015, Mr Valentin Gapanovich, senior vice-president of innovative development and chief engineer with RZD, announced at the 9th 1520 railway forum organised by RZD in Sochi last week.

TVERSKOY Wagon Plant, a subsidiary of Transmashholding (TMH), Russia, presented a mock-up of its next generation EMU at the 9th 1520 railway forum organised by Russian Railways (RZD) in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

THE president of Russian Railways (RZD), Mr Vladimir Yakunin, joined a demonstration run at the Russian Railway Research Institute (VNIIZhT) Scherbinka test track on June 10 on the first of seven trains being supplied by Patentes Talgo, Spain, under a contract awarded in June 2012.

THE first of a fleet of 120 1524mm-gauge LRVs ordered by Moscow tram operator Mosgortrans from a joint venture of Pesa, Poland, and Uraltransmash, Russia, entered trial passenger operation in the Russian capital on June 1.

Ilya Shirokobrod, vice-president and head of the railway products division with Evraz, Russia, takes a look at how the market for rails is developing both technically and commercially, and the company's position in the market.

DESPITE revenues increasing by 14.4% year-on-year to Roubles 1.76 trillion ($US 48.91bn) in 2013 from Roubles 1.54 trillion in 2012, Russian Railways' (RZD) profit fell from Roubles 93.7bn to Roubles 36.7bn during the same period.

RUSSIAN Railways (RZD) has commenced testing of freight traffic on the reopened link from the Khasan border station of the Trans Siberian Railway in western Siberia to the port of Rason, North Korea.

THE national railways of Russia (RZD), Kazakhstan (KTZ) and Belarus (BC), the United Transport & Logistics Company Project Office (UTLC PO), and DHL Global Forwarding have signed a MOU to develop railfreight forwarding services between China and Europe with door-to-door delivery of containers.

THE Russian government says it expects to approve legislation in the middle of this year which would allow the private sector to invest in metro projects, including the construction of new lines and the acquisition of new rolling stock.