Electrichka

Elektrichka (russian: электри́чка, p=əlʲɪˈktrʲitɕkə; uk, електри́чка, elektrychka) is a Soviet and Eastern bloc commuter (regional) mostly suburban electrical multiple unit passenger train. Elektrichkas are widespread in Russia, Ukraine and other countries of the former Warsaw Pact presenting a socially vital mode of transportation. In 2007, 4085 commuter trains a day (in each direction) were running on the Russian Railways network alone, most of them electric. The first ''elektrichka'' train on July 6, 1926, along the Baku– Sabunchi line in Soviet Azerbaijan. Also urban (intra-city) ''gorodskaya elektrichkas'' and airport's ''aeroexpresses'' exist in a few cities of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.

Name

"Elektrichka" was initially a colloquial abbreviation for ''elektropoyezd'' (russian: электропо́езд, electric train), the official term for electrical multiple unit passenger train in respective languages. However, it is gradually becoming a part of the official trademark names. For instance, the new intra-city train service in Kyiv is officially called "elektrychka" in Ukrainian. The popular Internet search engine Yandex officially uses Russian "elektrichka" in its branded online schedule services.

Since the collapse of communism, the term "Elektrichka" is not in use with non-Russian speaking population in some countries where native Slavic language speakers are not in the majority.

Rolling stock

All elektrichkas are overhead line-fed electrical multiple unit (EMU) trains, usually consisting of 4 to 14 cars with a driver's cab at both ends. A 10-car train has a capacity of 1,200 passengers. The Soviet trains were manufactured at the Riga Wagon Plant in the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, and bore the "ER" (; Cyrillic: , ) model designation. The plant was the only manufacturer from the 1950s until the break-up of the Soviet Union. The most widespread elektrichka models are the ER-2 (russian: ЭР-2, links=no) and ER-9 (russian: ЭР-9, links=no) (using DC and AC traction respectively); later models in use are mostly their variants and successors.

ER-2 and ER-9 trains contain an even number of cars; of each adjacent pair, one is equipped with motors and the other carries pneumatic equipment. Cars with cabs carry pneumatic equipment, and motor cars are easily recognizable because of pantographs on their roofs. Not every car is equipped with toilets; on some trains there are as few as two per train, near the driver's cab. Each car has four automatic doors, two on each side. When the train stops, doors on the platform side open simultaneously. Doors may be equipped with stairs, to allow for low station platforms. The doors are narrower than in metro trains. An elektrichka is bare-bones transportation with simple benches (each seating three) next to the windows.

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union some successor nations started production of new elektrichka models with limited success. Due to underfunding during the 1990s, railways continue to use Soviet-built trains, preferring renovation over replacement. Consequently, most elektrichkas in use are similar in appearance, differing only in livery; the Soviet-era standard was dark green, with red stripes on the front and a yellow stripe on the side of the train. Some newer models have wider doors or other electric engines, for example ED4 and EP2D series, cars are 1.5 windows longer and have wider doors, or ET4A with asynchronous motors.

Non-elektrichka regional trains

The ''dizelnyi poezd'' (russian: ди́зельный по́езд, links=no, "diesel train"; colloquially, ''dizel'' russian: ди́зель, links=no or ''motovoz'', russian: мотово́з, links=no) is a Soviet-type commuter train operationally similar to ''elektrichka''. It is a diesel multiple unit train of up to six cars. A lot of routes have been served by "classic" trains of a single passenger car or several passenger cars hauled by a mainline diesel, mainline electric or even shunting diesel locomotive. However, such trains are less widespread since the majority of track on Soviet railroads has been electrified and (/or, if already electrified earlier) adapted (new platforms have been built) for ''elektrichkas, electricity in the region is cheap, and electric multiple-unit operation is far more effective for suburban traffic because of faster acceleration than diesel-hauled services. Non-elektrichkas also have significantly less socioeconomic importance because of the much lower average speed. The difference deepens as diesel locomotive-hauled commuter trains are being gradually replaced by more efficient railcars (''relsovyi avtobus'' (russian: ре́льсовый авто́бус, links=no, "railbuses") capable of moving far fewer passengers.

Typical service organization

The elektrichka's crew consists of a driver and an assistant driver. Since distances between stations are usually long, elektrichkas also stop at specially built stops known as "platforms" (russian: платфо́рма, links=no). Sometimes these stops consist of nothing more than a simple platform, shorter than the length of the train and located in isolated areas. Some platforms lack permanent personnel or lighting. In some areas, elektrichkas stop at seasonal stops without a structure (in forest areas these are colloquially known as "mushroom stops", because they are extensively used by mushroom gatherers).

Elektrichkas are maintained in special depots (russian: моторваго́нное депо, links=no, ''motorvagonnoye depo'', uk, моторваго́нне депо́, ''motorvahonne depo''), where trains are repaired and train crews employed. However, neither elektrichkas nor their crews return to a depot every day; instead, they are assigned to the end stations of the routes.

Regional details

Russia

Elektrichkas for Russian Railways are manufactured in Demikhovo, Moscow Oblast, Torzhok, Tver Oblast and Verkhnyaya Pyshma, Sverdlovsk Oblast. The trains link almost all cities which have a railroad with its outskirts and with its surrounding cities. Much of the countryside which they pass through is scenic. The elektrichka is an indispensable mode of transportation in Russia.

Ukraine

Ukraine, possessing a dense network of electrified railways, is supporting and developing its elektrychka system, officially known as elektropoyizd in Ukrainian. As of May 2010, there is no region of the country not covered by ''elektrychka'' service except the Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi regions (which do not have electrified railways and use diesel trains). A typical ''elektrychka'' route is around in length and has stops every (about 3½ hours' travel time each way). It is possible to travel across the country by changing ''elektrichka'' trains two or three times. Tickets can be inexpensive, although such travel is uncomfortable. Most trains collect money in the absence of a ticket. It is possible to travel for free illegally when, at a stop, one exits the car where fares are being collected and goes to one where fares have already been collected, bypassing the collector.

Many Ukrainian ''elektrichkas'' are evolving into inter-city services. There are new direct lines such as the Kyiv-Rivne route, which is about long. This rail service is a cross between an ''elektrychka'' and a traditional train with sleeping cars. Such new trains have an increased level of comfort, with fewer stops. The longest routes for these more-comfortable ''elektrychkas'' are Zaporizhia–Kharkiv

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