MOSCOW, May 19 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Railways (RZD) Friday signed a 600-million-euro ($765-million) deal with Siemens on supplies and maintenance of eight high-speed trains, the German company said Friday.
A Siemens spokesman said that, under the deal, Russia would receive state-of-the-art high-speed trains. He added that the current deal lays the groundwork for further long-term cooperation between Siemens and RZD.
The trains, capable of reaching 250 kilometers per hour, will run between Moscow and St. Petersburg as early as the end of 2009, and then between Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod in the Volga region.
Each train will include 10 cars and will be capable of carrying over 600 passengers. Supplies will be completed by late 2010.