The ''Strizh'' (russian: Стриж, lit=

Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

) is a Russian locomotive-hauled, low-floor, high-speed

express train An express train is a type of passenger train that makes a small number of stops between its origin and destination stations, usually major destinations, allowing faster service than local trains that stop at most or all of the stations alo ...

Main information

The trains have been running between

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 ...

and

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

since 1 June 2015 and between Moscow and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

since 17 December 2016. On the Moscow – Nizhny Novgorod line, they make 1 to 3 stops, linking the two cities in 3 hours 35 minutes (when they only stop in

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 ...

). The cars are pulled by an

EP20 EP, ep, or Ep may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Extended play, a recording that contains more than a single, but less than a full album * Electric piano * Entity Paradigm, a Pakistani rock band * ''EP'' (The 77s EP), 1999 * ''EP'' (B ...

locomotive. In 2016,

Russian Railways Russian Railways (russian: link=no, ОАО «Российские железные дороги» (ОАО «РЖД»), OAO Rossiyskie zheleznye dorogi (OAO RZhD)) is a Russian fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company, both manag ...

also connected

and

using the Strizh. The travel time between the two cities is a little over 20 hours.

Lines

The Strizh train currently operates on two lines: *

–

(via

Kovrov Kovrov (russian: Ковро́в) is a city in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Klyazma River, a tributary of the Oka. Kovrov's population as of the 2021 Census was 132,417, down from 145,214 recorded in the 2010 Censu ...

and Dzerzhinsk) * Saint-Petersburg – Samara (via

, Dzerzhinsk,

Arzamas Arzamas (russian: Арзама́с) is a city in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Tyosha River (a tributary of the Oka), east of Moscow. Population: History Arzamas was founded in 1578 by Ivan the Terrible in the lands pop ...

Saransk Saransk (russian: Саранск, p=sɐˈransk; mdf, Саранск ошсь, Saransk oš; myv, Саран ош, Saran oš) is the capital city of the Republic of Mordovia, Russia, as well as its financial and economic centre. It is located ...

Syzran Syzran ( rus, Сызрань, p=ˈsɨzrənʲ) is the third largest city in Samara Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of Saratov Reservoir of the Volga River. Population: History Founded in 1683 as a fortress, Syzran grew into an important ...

) Previously the train was in operation on international line: *

–

(via

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

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 ...

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

and

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

)

Moscow – Nizhny Novgorod line

The Strizh trains run between

and

since 1 June 2015. They make 1 to 3 stops on the line: in Dzerzhinsk,

and

. The travel time between

and

is between 3 hours 35 minutes, when it stops only in Vladimir, and up to 3 hours 50 minutes with 3 stops. The cars are pulled by an

locomotive. Another fast train, the Lastochka ("Swallow") operates on the same line but makes 6 stops: in Orekhovo-Zuyevo,

, Vyazniki, Gorokhovets and Dzerzhinsk, travelling between

and

in 4 hours 6 minutes.

Moscow – Berlin line

The Strizh trains were in operation between

and

since 17 December 2016 to 15 March 2020. Later this international route was canceled due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

pandemic and closing of borders between countries. The length of the line was . The initial schedule was 2 trains per week, between Moscow Kurskaya and

Berlin Ostbahnhof Berlin Ostbahnhof (German for Berlin East railway station) is a main line railway station in Berlin, Germany. It is located in the Friedrichshain quarter, now part of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough, and has undergone several name changes in i ...

, linking both stations in 20 hours 14 minutes westbound (instead of 24h 49min previously) and 20 hours 35 minutes eastbound (compared with 25h 56min previously). The trains leave from Moscow on Saturdays and Sundays, and from Berlin on Sundays and Mondays. They made intermediate stops in

Orsha Orsha ( be, О́рша, Во́рша, Orša, Vorša; russian: О́рша ; lt, Orša, pl, Orsza) is a city in Belarus in the Vitebsk Region, on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers. History Orsha was first mentioned in 1067 as Rsha ...

Terespol Terespol (; be, Тэрэ́спаль, Teréspaĺ) is a town in eastern Poland on the border with Belarus. It lies on the border river Bug, directly opposite the city of Brest, Belarus, making it a border town. It has 5,794 inhabitants as of ...

, Poznan,

Rzepin Rzepin (german: Reppen) is a town in western Poland. Situated in the Lubusz Voivodeship (since 1999), in Słubice County it is a seat of the urban-rural Rzepin Gmina. From 1975 until 1998 the town, from an administrative point of view, belonged ...

and Frankfurt (Oder). The Strizh trains to/from Berlin left and arrived at the Moscow Smolenskaya station (also called Moscow Belorussky) instead of Moscow Kurskaya. Between June 2017 and June 2019, some modernization work on a railway section between Warsaw and Poznan will force the trains to take a detour which will make the trip longer. After this renovation the speed limit will be on all the length of this section. Moscow and Berlin were also connected once weekly by the non-Strizh trains from the Moscow–

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

line, which depart from Moscow on each Wednesday evening and from Berlin on each Saturday morning. These trains, using RIC wagons, link both cities in about 24 hours.Train Moscow – Berlin – Paris
/ref> File:ЭП20-006 с поездом 708Н Talgo Стриж, Курский вокзал.webm, thumbtime=1:21, A departure of the Strizh train hauled with

electric locomotive from

Kursky Rail Terminal Kursky railway terminal (russian: Ку́рский вокза́л, ''Kursky vokzal''), also known as Moscow Kurskaya railway station (russian: Москва́-Ку́рская, ''Moskva-Kurskaya''), is one of the ten railway terminals in Moscow. I ...

in Moscow File:Talgo 250 Strizh - trip Moscow - Berlin.webm, thumbtime=6:14, A trip in a long-distance version of train from Moscow to Berlin File:EP20-047 with Talgo 250 Strizh, Sablino station.webm, thumbtime=21, A Strizh train on the Saint Petersburg — Samara line hauled with EP20 locomotive

Media

Locomotives, used in operation

File:ЭП20-008, поезд Нижний Новгород - Москва, «Стриж», станция Нижний Новгород-Московский.jpg, Electric locomotive

with ''Strizh'' train Passenger electric locomotive EP2К.jpg, Electric locomotive EP2K with ''Strizh'' train ТЭП70БС-097 с поездом Стриж, Москворечье.jpg, Diesel locomotive

TEP70 The TEP70 is a main line single-unit diesel locomotive, rated at , with AC/DC transmission and individual axle traction control, designed to haul passenger trains on the Russian gauge railway network of eastern Europe. As of 2022, it is still in ...

BS with ''Strizh'' train

Interiors

File:Talgo 250 Strizh(12).jpg, An

open coach An open coach is a railway passenger coach that does not have compartments or other divisions within it and in which the seats are arranged in one or more open plan areas with a centre aisle. The first open coaches appeared in the first half of t ...

with 1st class seats File:Talgo 250 Strizh(14).jpg, A

couchette car A couchette car is a railway carriage conveying non or semi-private sleeping accommodation. Overview The car is divided into a number of compartments (typically 8 to 10) accessed from the side corridor of the car, which in daytime are configu ...

with 2nd class places File:Talgo 250 Strizh(11).jpg, A

bar car A bar car is a train car that has as its primary purpose the provision and consumption of alcoholic and other beverages. In the United States Bar cars were common during the heyday of U.S. rail travel prior to World War II. However, since May 2 ...

File:Talgo 250 Strizh(10).jpg, A dining car

References

External links

Video coverage of the Moscow-Berlin link launch in 2016

New Swift international train makes first journey with passengers from Moscow to Berlin
{{High speed trains in Russia High-speed rail in Russia Railway services introduced in 2015 Articles containing video clips