The ESh2 Eurasia (russian: ЭШ2 «Евразия», also Yevraziya) is the

Russian gauge Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: * Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...

version of the Stadler KISS double-deck electric train. These trains are used by three operators—

Aeroexpress Aeroexpress Ltd. (russian: ООО "Аэроэкспресс") is the operator of airport rail link services in Russia. It is founded in 2005 and is owned by Russian Railways (50%), TransGroup AS (25%), Iskander Makhmudov (17.5%), and Andrei Bo ...

, Azerbaijan Railways and Georgian Railways.

History

In 2014, due to the growth of passenger traffic on the routes connecting urban stations to airports,

has signed a contract with Stadler AG: a contract for production of 25 double-deck Stadler KISS family—16 4-car set and 9 6-car version. The cost of all 118 cars is 385.31 million

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

s. According to the production plan, the first three trains will be fully assembled in Altenrhein's research and development center of Stadler. Assembly of the remaining 22 trains will be carried out in Stadler's new plant in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

. For the first time, in early February 2014, the body of the motor car trains for the future was presented at the plant in Altenrhein. In August 2014, the plant produced the first six-car train ESh2-001, which was soon sent on the ferry to Klaipeda. In October 2014, the train arrived in

for acceptance, commissioning tests. In November, its presentation took place in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

's Ilyich Train Depot; soon the second train arrived. Both trains were painted red with black bands at the level of the windows. Later, due to lack of funds caused by the decline of the

ruble The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. , currencies named ''rub ...

against the

has further delayed the purchase of new electric trains. As a result of this funding crisis, the delivery of the first two trains manufactured in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

has never been carried out, and the third train was taken on the ferry to Lithuania and finally sent to

Fanipol Fanipal ( be, Фа́ніпаль, Fanipaĺ; russian: Фа́ниполь, Fanipol; pl, Fanipal; lt, Fanipalis), is a city in the Minsk Region of Belarus. Fanipal is located in Dzyarzhynsk District, southwest of Minsk and southwest of the Min ...

in April 2015. On 13 May 2015 Azerbaijan Railways ordered 5 trains of this type.

Tests

During the testing of the trains, they made a number of experienced travels without passengers on routes

Shcherbinka Shcherbinka (russian: Ще́рбинка) is a town, formerly in Moscow Oblast, Russia, and since July 1, 2012 a federal city subject (settlement) of Moscow, Russia. It is located south of the center of Moscow. Population: History It was f ...

–

Kubinka Kubinka (russian: Ку́бинка) is a town in Odintsovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Setun River, west of Moscow. Population: __TOC__ History Kubinka, founded in the 15th century, may have been named after Prince , a ...

and

–

Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

. In the period 2015–16, the gradual introduction of the trains in regular operation is planned on the

Moscow Railway Moscow Railway (russian: Московская железная дорога) is a subsidiary of Russian Railways that handles half of Russia's suburban railway operations and a quarter of the country's passenger traffic. As of 2009 the railway, wh ...

as Aeroexpress trains from Belorussky, Kievsky and Paveletsky railway stations to airports Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo and Domodedovo.

Variants

The variants of Russian bilevel EMUs are: * DC sets with high doors (existing); * DC sets with high and low doors; * AC sets with low doors; and * AC/DC sets with low doors. The high doors are accessible with the platforms, while the low doors are accessible with the platforms and the platforms.

Photos of interior

File:Esh2-001 interior entrance.jpg, Entrance File:ESh2-001_interior_stairs.jpg, Stairs from the upper deck File:ESh2-001 interior lower level.jpg, Stairs to the lower deck File:ESh2-001 interior 1st class.jpg, 1st class car File:ESh2-001 interior 2nd class.jpg, 2nd class car File:ESh2-001_cab_2.jpg, Cabin

Videos

File:ESh2-001 EXPO-1520.webm, thumbtime=46, Testing of ESh2-001 train on railway circuit in

File:ESh2-002 EXPO-1520.webm, thumbtime=2, Presentation of ESh2-002 in

References

Links

Photos on Trainpix.org

Photos on Parovoz.com

Evrazia on Aeroexpress website
{{Moscow Central Diameters Rolling stock of Russia Stadler KISS Articles containing video clips