The ''Red Arrow'' () is a Russian overnight

sleeper train The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the main American innovator and owner of sleeper cars in the lat ...

connecting

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

via the Moscow–Saint Petersburg Railway.

History

The ''Red Arrow'' runs from Leningrad Station in Moscow to Moscow Station in Saint Petersburg. It started its first regular service on June 9, 1931, and has only been interrupted between 1941 and 1943 during the

Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

. In 1962, the deep red colour of the train was adopted. Since 1965, the song "The Hymn to the Great City" has been playing when the ''Red Arrow'' leaves Saint Petersburg at 23:55. It was composed by

Reinhold Glière Reinhold Moritzevich Glière (23 June 1956), born Reinhold Ernest Glier, was a Russian and Soviet composer of German and Polish descent. He was awarded the title of People's Artist of RSFSR (1935) and People's Artist of USSR (1938). Biography ...

in 1949 and has been adopted as the hymn of Saint Petersburg in 2003. The Red Arrow is the most popular train in Russia. In Soviet times the Communist Party elite were carried out only by the Red Arrow between Moscow and Leningrad. To enhance capacity, a second sleeper train was introduced in 1978, called the ''Red Arrow 2''; this service leaves Moscow and Leningrad four minutes later. As newly designed cars were introduced by

Russian Railways Russian Railways or RZD () is a Russian fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company, both managing infrastructure and operating freight and passenger train services and has a near-monopoly on long-distance train travel in Russia. ...

in 2007, the ''Red Arrow 2'' was renamed ''Express''. As the demand for sleeper train increased even more, a private sleeper train, called ''Megapolis'', was introduced by the Tverskoy Express company, leaving Moscow or St Petersburg after the ''Red Arrow'' and ''Express''.

Structure of the Red Arrow

The Red Arrow has a restaurant car, VIP carriages, as well as 1st and 2nd class carriages. In designing the interior of the compartment cars, mainly wood is used. The VIP cars have a low noise level, air conditioning and ventilation system, flip-top sleeping berth, convertible table, conductor call button, bathroom and environmentally friendly toilet.

Notable events

In honour of the 75th anniversary of the train, a special subway train called ''Red Arrow - 75 Years'' was launched in 2006 on the

Moscow Metro The Moscow Metro) is a rapid transit system in the Moscow Oblast of Russia. It serves the capital city of Moscow and the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy, and Kotelniki. Opened in 1935 with one l ...

. On 29 March 2010 the subway train was bombed in the terrorist attack at Lubyanka station. As of June 2010 the subway train has been repaired and relaunched.

References

External links

Railway stations in Leningrad
(Encyclopedia of Leningrad) {{Semi-fast trains of RZD Named passenger trains of Russia Rail transport in Saint Petersburg Rail transport in Moscow Night trains of Russia Railway services introduced in 1931 Rail transport in the Soviet Union