Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited the Metrovagonmash Plant in Mytishchi near Moscow where he tried his hand at driving first a subway train and then a railroad train.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited the Metrovagonmash Plant in Mytishchi near Moscow where he tried his hand at driving first a subway train and then a railroad train.
Andrei Andreyev, Metrovagonmash director general, conducted a guided tour for the head of state. The plant manufactures rolling stock and spare parts for the subway and railroads.
Andreyev showed the president the cars the plant supplies for the subway systems in Moscow, Kazan, and Bulgaria. Two weeks ago, the plant won a tender to manufacture an additional 300 cars for the Sofia underground.
One Rusich-type car costs around 70-80 million rubles to make. They have a service life of 30 to 40 years. Thanks to new technology they make a power saving of up to 40%.
The head of state also examined modern diesel trains for short distance transportation.
The Metrovagonmash head also showed the president three models of subway cars. Two are already in service on the Moscow subway, while the third model has just been developed and, Andreyev said, will start running before the end of the year.
In the cab, the head of state was able to test the braking system personally and see car “passengers” (journalists) on a screen.
Andreyev told the president that the driver doesn’t open the doors in the new model subway cars. At each station, those wishing to get off have to press a button themselves for the door to open. The president tested this mechanism several times.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visiting the Metrovagonmash Plant in Mytishchi on March 23, 2011.
