Stadler has shipped the first of 25 new double-deck trains for Russian rail operator Aeroexpress to Belarus to begin testing.
On September 6, the first few carriages began the long journey from Stadler’s factory in Altenrhein to Russia. After arriving in Basel, they were taken by barge down the Rhine River to Amsterdam where they were loaded onto a coastal freighter bound for Sassnitz, Germany. From there, the carriages are taken by ferry to Klaipeda, Lithuania, were they can be coupled together and hauled on Russian gauge track to Minsk.
Although the first four trains are being built in Altenrhein, the remaining 21 units will be assembled in Belarus by Stadler Minsk.
Testing and commissioning will be completed in Belarus before they are delivered to Aeroexpress.
The first of the new trains, which will increase the airport rail link operator’s capacity by 30 to 40 per cent, are scheduled to enter passenger service in June 2015, with the final train set to be delivered 12 months after that.
The 25 units consist of 118 carriages split into 16 four-car and nine six-car trains.
