Seated train swallow. Swallow - Railway - LiveJournal

A week ago I had the opportunity to drive to Petrozavodsk and back with a new version of Lastochka, adapted for long-distance travel. The train is called "Swallow Premium" and indeed has quite a few differences from the standard layout, which I examined in detail two years ago -. During operation, passengers had considerable complaints about the standard layout - if you travel far and the car is full, there are queues for the toilets (only 2 per five-car section) and crowded seating, especially in the “face-to-face” option. Therefore, Russian Railways recently supplied a different version for the five-hour flight, the farthest of the Swallows on a regular basis.

On this flight to Karelia (No. 805/806) I checked for myself how it is passed now and what has changed.

"Lastochka-Premium" on the first platform of the railway station. Petrozavodsk

2. All messages to Karelia and the Arctic now originate at the Ladozhsky station. I showed up here about 20 minutes before departure, a little late from what I had planned. The day had already grown longer, so the setting sun was still illuminating the arches of the station.

3. A little filling with pancakes on the way to the plateau - otherwise who knows how it will be on the road. At the same time, I note with surprise that the station restaurateurs registered the good soldier Schweik as a Bavarian :)

4. Well, let's go down...

5. And it turned out in vain. It was necessary to take the escalator down: on this day (Monday) the “Swallow” is short, 5-car, and the whole thing fits right under the concourse. Okay, let's go back along the platform.

6. We approach the train, boarding is already in full swing. There are a lot of people, despite it being Monday.

7. ...Let's look into the train's eyes, an unshakable tradition. Now you can sit down, there are 7 or 10 minutes left before departure.

Due to the fact that I was a little late for departure, it became difficult to photograph inside.
There were really a lot of people - probably 90% or even more of the train was full, so you couldn’t choose too many angles without violating the personal space of numerous passengers. Therefore, what is, is. On the way back I took some pictures of the views; on Tuesday back to St. Petersburg the train was about 60% full and it was a little easier.

Unlike the standard Lastochka, this version (“Premium”) has a 2-class layout for each five-car section: the first car is business class, from 2 to 5 are economy classes. I've driven both (there) and the other (back), so let's take a look at both. Let's start with the economy.

8. This is what the economy class carriage looks like in the new version. The seats have become more “airplane” type, the distances between the seats have increased, and where the seats are “face to face”, tables have appeared, like on the Sapsan. The carriage was full, so the ergonomics could be assessed more boldly.

9. For comparison: a standard Lastochka car on Bologoye (from my testing in January 2013).

I think this is a very fundamental change in terms of the new layout: the number of seats in the long-range version has been reduced from 443 in the standard version to 332 now. Look here, a comparative diagram of medium-sized cars, the usual layout and the “long-range” one:

10. Let's take a closer look at the chairs closer and in profile. The seats are adjustable with the seat moving forward, although this button is not so easy to immediately find :)

11. Place with tables, “family layout”. Here the distance has also increased.

12. Again, for comparison: standard layout, a photo from the Bologovo trip 2013.

13. Interior salons began to be branded little by little, with a corporate style. It didn't exist before.

14. A good quality is that very massive things fit on top, you can throw a lot of things. Remember, in the fall I left Lietuvos gelezinkeliai on a Polish train? There was little space for things. Here this matter is handled much better: there is a lot of space both at the top and in the luggage racks. Clothes are hung right above the windows - since there were a lot of people and it was winter, you can clearly see what the placement of numerous jackets and down jackets looks like.

15. However, the most significant change for the passenger, which I liked most, is the coolers with cold water and boiling water. For this, they sacrificed reclining seats, eliminating them altogether as a class in the long-distance version. I immediately remembered Chinese trains of category D, where coolers are also located in every car. In fact, this is a very important addition to comfort: there is no need to suffer from thirst or buy water at exorbitant prices in the road trade. You can brew tea on the go from your own tea bags. Cooler on the road is very popular, as it turned out - especially after stopping in Svir, where they sell smoked fish. And no wonder :)

16. Here is a version of an almost completely packed carriage, with a bunch of things and clothes. It's on the way "there". The cooler is filled with things, but there is access to it, although it’s not very convenient, you have to reach out.

17. On the way back it was easier, so during boarding in Petrozavodsk I was able to take pictures of the layout options for the middle cars without passengers (2, 3, 4). The table between the chairs is now folded. This is the side with three chairs,...

18. ...and this is with two, on the contrary.

19. The Karelian evening express now has two stops - in Svir (connecting station) and in Lodeynoye Pole (introduced just a month ago at the request of passengers). About Lodeynoye Pole, I asked the head of the train, how was boarding there and whether there were any passengers. He says there are always 15-20 people on the flight and they board. Mainly on St. Petersburg. Fast and non-stop.

20. Despite the frost, fish are sold in full on the Svir platform. All carriages have been allocated. Trade is active, people are stocking up. The rest who got off are desperately smoking as much as they can in 6 minutes; you can’t smoke on the train.

21. Now let's move on to business class. This is always the 1st car of a five-car section in this variant. The layout here is not 2+3, as in economy, but 2+2, and the chairs themselves are leather, not fabric.

22. Front part of the carriage. Behind the doors is a small enclosure for stewards and waiters. There are two waiters, and a basket with drinks, tea-coffee, sandwiches and food travels with them, feeding passengers, through the carriages twice per trip - before and after Svir.

By the way, do you see the dude looking at me in the middle of the frame?
This is a Finn who came to Petrozavodsk for some business. Somewhere after Svir he came up to me and asked in broken Russian:
- Hello! You have a good camera. Are you a photographer?
- No, I'm more of a traveler.
- Why are you filming here? Why remove the toilet?
- And this is my topic, the railway.

23. By the way, about toilets. This is the third big change in the new version - now there are 4 of them, not 2 as before. One is large, the second is small (pictured). Both pairs are located in the end cars.

Regarding the toilets, the tension in communication to distant shoulders was revealed long ago: with two per section, queues of 10-12 people constantly appeared. So, for 4 toilets the queues were reduced to a couple of people - I saw this on a completely packed train on the way “there”. If the train is half full, then in this configuration there are no queues at all. In general, the standard version also needs to be rescheduled to 4.

24. Passage from the large toilet deep into the beginning of the car. On the left is a wardrobe for clothes.

25. Three places here are single. By the way, helpful advice: try not to take the 21st place in the “business”, it is exactly opposite the entrance to the “small” toilet. The entire time you travel, you will be watching the passengers push and pull, as well as the doors opening and closing next to you.

26. There are also places with tables, just like in the "economy" room.

The sockets in the carriage are located in the same way as in the standard version - mainly at the top, at regular intervals.
There are also 4 or 6 sockets in the places under the seats for each carriage.

* * *
We have looked at the advantages and general layout, now let’s move on to the oddities and disadvantages.

A. The most important of the oddities is that during the rearrangement the economy class seats were not provided with tables! (in business there is). This was all the more strange because the technological recess for the table at each chair was clearly visible; They just apparently took the package for one and a half kopecks cheaper. How the purchasers motivated such a strange decision in the eyes of their superiors, I don’t know.

Look more closely at photo No. 16 and especially No. 10, see how the recesses for the table are visible there?
This is quite inconvenient, since on the road passengers in seats without tables, “airplane” layout, begin to place their bottles anywhere, food on their laps, and in the case of an empty seat next to them, they place all their snacks directly on the seat, laying down pieces of paper. Because there is nowhere else.

B. The issue with garbage. Again, it seems like a small thing, but it leads to inconvenience. It was possible to provide envelopes on the sides with enclosed bags, as in many similar trains. True, there are two trash cans at the vestibuleless exit, but they are small. How is this issue resolved during the flight? Twice, before and after Svir, a special girl walks with a garbage bag and collects various accumulated garbage from passengers. You can’t throw the bottles into a small trash bin anyway.

V. And one more thing. Surprisingly, they did not provide a water cooler in business class. In economy class there is a short walk, but from business class, where by default there should be comfort in a higher class, you will have to walk through the carriage to get water. Strange.

27. We leave Petrozavodsk for home. It's still sunset, the day has already lengthened significantly since the end of December.

Additional useful information.

The train runs daily. Under No. 806, it departs from St. Petersburg at 18:00 and arrives in Petrozavodsk at 22:55 (4 hours 55 minutes). From Petrozavodsk it’s exactly the same, No. 805 - leaves at 18:00, arrives at 22:55.
- Ticket price - 936 rubles. economy, 1312 rubles business.
- Depending on the day of the week, Lastochka Premium runs either at 5 (weekdays) or in a 10-car configuration (Friday, Sunday).

28. That's all. Peter. The trip is over, we go down through the labyrinths of the Ladozhsky station in the metro.

Summary.
The new layout of the train has significantly increased the level of passenger convenience and comfort.
It’s especially good that they doubled the number of toilets and installed water coolers.
But you definitely need to put tables in economy class seats, it’s inconvenient without them.

For those who travel frequently and are planning a trip by high-speed train or from Nizhny Novgorod to Moscow or back, it is recommended that you read this article before buying a ticket. Now I'm just sitting on a cramped chair high-speed train Lastochka, only 30 minutes have passed since departure, and I already want this trip to end as quickly as possible. Why? Read mine review, and a lot will become clear to you.

Impressions of a trip on the high-speed train Lastochka would not be complete without comparing it with another high-speed train - Sapsan. I have ridden it many times already and, in principle, the impressions were the most favorable. In any case, if I were offered to travel from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod or back on a regular train in a reserved seat car (a compartment car is better, but much more expensive), or on the Strizh, then I would choose the Strizh.

Why? It's faster, somehow more modern, just 4 hours and you're home. Anything is better than listening to someone’s violent snoring or coughing all night, and then getting up rumpled, sleep-deprived and angry.

But if I were offered a choice between a regular train, even in a reserved seat car, or the high-speed Lastochka train, I would not choose Lastochka.

Perhaps this is my purely picky subjective opinion, but I really think so, and now I will try to give the facts and give some recommendations if you decide to go to Swallow.

Disadvantages of the high-speed train Lastochka

The first thing that caught my eye and stung unpleasantly was the arrangement of the seats. Maybe things are different in other cars, but in my car number two, almost all the seats are facing each other, just like on a regular train. On one side there are two in a row, and on the other there are three. Sit all the way and look at your neighbor. It's annoying sometimes.

Keep in mind that, unlike Swift in Swallow, window seats are not best choice. The fact is that there are hooks for outerwear on the luggage rack. When passengers hang their jackets, coats and sheepskin coats on these hooks, sitting by the window becomes a bit cramped. To top it all off, some items of outerwear emit a characteristic and not so pleasant smell. Driving for four hours next to someone's fragrant coat is, frankly speaking, a below average pleasure - I tested it for myself. Of course, this problem only occurs during the cold season. In summer it won't bother you.

The next unpleasant surprise is the seats. They do not fold out in the Swallow. True, in the Swift they also fold out quite a bit, but this is better than driving all the way in an upright position like a tree stump. In their quest to get some sleep, passengers sometimes take very bizarre poses. Moreover, there are folding tables in the backs of the Swift seats. For example, you can put your laptop on the table and work or watch a movie. A pocket in the front seat can also be very useful. For example, I hung my tablet on it (by the folding cover of the case - very convenient) and watched movies without holding the device in my hands. In the swallow, the seats are back to back and that says it all.

Another ambush is luggage racks. They are very small and, for example, I did not have enough space to put my backpack in there. Unlike the train in Swallow, the luggage racks do not close, and all the way I watched with bated breath when the poorly placed raincoat would finally fall from the shelf on the opposite side of the car onto the heads of the sleeping passengers. They will be happy.

Nevertheless, I noticed one very useful thing in Swallow - electrical sockets on luggage racks. True, there are very few of them, about one socket for 12-14 seats. The principle works here - whoever occupied the socket first is recharged. In the carriages of the Sapsan train, however, there are also sockets, but they are located at the entrances to the carriages - only two per carriage (at least, that’s how many I counted). You put the tablet on charge, go to your place, and then you come and... When I asked if tablets are often stolen here, Sapsan’s conductor said that everything here is under cameras. In fact, this is little consolation. Someone could grab your tablet and get off at the way station. I don't think cameras will help in this case.

Go ahead. In Lastochka, unlike Sapsan and Swift, there are no televisions on the ceiling. There is not even a radio that you can listen to by plugging a headphone jack (free) into the seat armrest. Here, to paraphrase a well-known proverb, the entertainment of drowning people is the work of the drowning people themselves. In principle, you can read a book, listen to a player, watch a movie on your tablet, but if you didn’t bring anything for the trip, get ready to be bored for several hours. Especially if you are traveling at night, there is no point in looking out the window - there is a bright light on in the carriage and the glass only reflects the ambiance of the carriage to you. In addition, the windows may be tightly covered with jackets and coats of other passengers.

In Lastochka, unlike Sapsan and Swift, there is no possibility to use WiFi. Of course, on the one hand, you can live for four hours without the Internet, but for some this is very annoying - you could see it from the faces of the passengers. If you go on a Lastochka, prepare some kind of SIM card with Internet “everywhere”.

Advantages of the Lastochka train

Now, for the sake of objectivity, I would like to note the positive side of the Swallow train.

Let's start with the fact that the carriages are quite clean and light. These are not dirty trains with a barely glowing single light on the ceiling. Bright lighting creates a certain atmosphere of comfort and at least some semblance of civilization.

The carriages are clean, there is no carpet on the floor, but it is covered with some kind of anti-slip layer. Visiting the toilet also left the most decent impression. True, there are clearly not enough toilets on the train, but they are large and designed even for disabled passengers. In contrast, the toilet in Sapsan is slightly larger than on an airplane. That is, when you go in, you go in, but there’s almost nowhere to turn around.

The carriages of the high-speed Lastochka train have air conditioning - the temperature was maintained at about 25 degrees. I sat in a T-shirt and felt comfortable. I immediately remembered my long-ago trip to the city of Shakhunya from Nizhny Novgorod. The temperature outside was about minus twenty degrees, I think it was no more in the train cars. In Lastochka the air temperature is fine.

Another fact that may seem like a minus to some and a plus to others. Carts with drinks and food are carried throughout the carriages. On the one hand, if you were unable to have a snack before your trip, then such a cart can be regarded as a lifesaver. But at the same time, be prepared to shell out a round sum for a small snack. I remember one day I decided to order tea and some cake at Sapsan. Tea was served in bags, and the cake was the most ordinary, which costs twenty rubles in the store.

For this bold experiment with a snack at Sapsan, I remember I paid about two hundred and fifty rubles. In Lastochka the prices are about the same. But you don’t have to order anything. You can proudly reject the offer of the conductors, and then your budget will not be undermined.

The train goes quite fast compared to usual. This is not to say that I constantly monitored the speed board, but the highest speed I noticed was 155 kilometers per hour. True, Sapsan goes even faster. In some sections, he accelerates to 180 km/h, and it becomes unclear why both he and Lastochka travel from Nizhny Novgorod to Moscow in the same time. Here it is worth noting that Sapsan walks more smoothly. The Swallow is apparently lighter, or its suspension is designed somehow differently, but it wobbles from side to side sometimes so much that I start missing the laptop keys.

Conclusion

Despite the existing positive qualities of the high-speed train Lastochka, it, of course, does not reach Sapsan in terms of comfort. With a difference in ticket price of about three hundred rubles, the choice in favor of Lastochka, in my opinion, is justified only because the time of departure and arrival is more convenient in your particular case, or if you still decide to save a little.

As for me personally, I think this is my first and, I hope, last trip on the high-speed train Swallow. Still, the comfort is worth paying a little more for.

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The topic of today's post will be my recent trip along the Nizhny Novgorod-Moscow route and back, which I made on the Lastochka train.

The Lastochka and Strizh trains are an excellent alternative to a car, thanks to which you can travel from Nizhny Novgorod to Moscow in 3.5 hours without traffic jams and in relative comfort. After weighing the pros and cons of traveling by car and by train, I decided to go by train.

You can buy a ticket for Lastochka on the Russian Railways website (rzd.ru) after registering there. The convenience of this method is that you can specify the seats in the car that you like the most. I bought a ticket about a month before the trip, there was a choice. The seats in the cars are shown in the figure below:

I bought a ticket for carriage 3 for seats 113, 114 (we were traveling together) and, as it turned out later, my choice was wise! And here are the reasons.

The extreme seats are located so that the back of the adjacent chair is in front of you. This allows you to sit more comfortably in the chair and stretch your legs under the chair in front without disturbing anyone. I noticed the passengers sitting in front; they were practically touching each other with their knees. Sitting in this position for 3.5 hours is below average pleasure.

Seats 113 and 114, 115 and 116 in carriage 3 are located so that you travel backwards, both there and back (I took a return ticket for the same seats). But you can’t guess, apparently, different trains have cars turned differently. At the opposite end of the car there are the same seats, but turned in the opposite direction - 1 and 2, 3 and 4.

More good places 43, 44 and 85, 86 - the same, but in the middle of the car, behind the back there will be luggage racks. Again, for reasons so that no one sits “toward” and so as not to jostle with anyone all the way.

What else do you need to be prepared for when buying a ticket to “Swallow”?

1. The seats are relatively narrow and if you come across a portly neighbor, you will have to win a narrow armrest from him. The shape of the seats is not the most comfortable. Either they were already squashed, but I was constantly sliding down, which is why my lower back got tired.
2. Where to put your outerwear? There are hooks along the windows on which you can hang it, but this will make the window space even more cramped. Leaning on your jacket or coat is all right, but when all the passengers in the compartment hang their outerwear on hooks by the window, it will become simply uncomfortable in the row by the window, especially if you don’t like to smell other people’s smoky things :)
3. Toilet. There are only two of them - in the first and last carriages. The queue can be up to half an hour! Don't even think about saving 50 rubles and buying a ticket for folding seats next to the toilet! There will always be a grumbling queue standing next to you, characteristically dancing in anticipation, and the door will slam in your face all the way.
4. Bring something to eat and drink with you. The prices for drinks and snacks on the train are outrageous. A cup of coffee 3 in 1 costs about 100 rubles. A sandwich will cost the same.
5. When the train moves, a creaking sound is heard from the wheeled bogies as the car rocks, vaguely reminiscent of the barking of sled dogs from the tundra. They say this is a design feature of the train and nothing can be done about it. This pisses some people off. Below is a video where you can hear this creak. Filming took place on mobile phone, the sound is not very high quality (listen to the creaking from 18 seconds:). A player and headphones are an excellent remedy for the creaking of wheeled carts :)

This post will tell a story about the Siemens Desiro Rus "Lastochka" (ES1) electric trains, which began operating on January 23, 2013 regular flights with passengers via the Russian Railways network.
Siemens Desiro Rus trains are primarily purchased to provide transportation during the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. Also (in the future) - to improve the quality of regional transportation on the Russian Railways network.
The Siemens Desiro Rus electric train is a two-system, high-floor, five-section (five-car) train. The design speed of the electric train is 160 km/h. Such electric trains can be operated in a combination of two trains - a total of 10 cars.
On January 23, 2013, operation of these electric trains with passengers began on the route St. Petersburg - Bologoe/ Velikiy Novgorod. Thus, two coupled five-car trains run from St. Petersburg-Glavny station to Chudovo station. In Chudovo, trains are uncoupled (on the way back - coupled) and then each train follows its own route - to Veliky Novgorod or to Bologoye.

More details about the order of the new electric train, with the car diagram, schedule, etc. can be found in the documents below - partially scanned booklets of JSC Russian Railways about the launch of the high-speed electric train "Lastochka" (they are clickable).

01. general information about the Lastochka electric train, its first route and the procedure for purchasing tickets

02. Schedule of electric trains "Sapsan" and "Lastochka"

03. Scheme of the circulation area high speed trains JSC "Russian Railways" and the cost of travel on the "Lastochka" on the route St. Petersburg - Bologoe/Veliky Novgorod

04. Diagram of carriages of the Lastochka electric train.

To date, I have made two trips on Lastochka electric trains.
On January 23, 2013, the day the movement of these electric trains opened, I was traveling in ES1-009 from Tosno to St. Petersburg, and already on January 26, 2013, I took a trip in the ES1-012 electric train along full route from St. Petersburg to Veliky Novgorod and back.

I’ll say right away that I expected a lot more from the new electric train. Therefore, this is the title of this post. Also, due to the specifics of my work, I am used to looking at many things critically. I didn’t ignore this train either, considering it from the point of view of a very picky passenger. Some estimates are based on the experience of traveling on trains of a similar class in Europe and even the Republic of Belarus.
So let's begin.
First, a few photos of the general view of the ES1 "Lastochka" electric train from the outside.

05. A raft of electric trains ES1-009 and ES1-010 at the St. Petersburg-Glavny station (Moscow Station) after arriving from the first flight with passengers from Bologoye and Veliky Novgorod. January 23, 2013

06. Electric train ES1-012 at the Novgorod-on-Volkhov station. January 26, 2013

Well, now let's move on to evaluating the electric train.
High-floor electric train. It is clear that the main circulation areas for these trains have high platforms, but in European countries Lately they haven't made high-floor trains. Yes, "Swallow" has standard exits to low platforms - in the form of a retractable staircase. But this staircase has small steps and no handrails. So the Olympians leaving this train on a low platform will quite possibly continue their participation in the Paralympic Games... What can we say about ordinary, especially elderly, passengers...

07. Pay attention to the train floor level and platform level. In Veliky Novgorod, Tosno and at the Moskovsky station, you had to step about 30 centimeters up into the train carriage. Either our platforms are wrong everywhere, or the train itself.

Next point. You need to board the train and, accordingly, find your carriage. You are looking for the carriage number... Intuitively, this is done on the electronic information board... ...where you do not find the carriage number.

08. External information board. Not available on head cars (sections)

The next point is boarding the electric train.
The train arrives and stops. You go to the nearest door, press the address button for opening it, but the door... ...does not open. Because in a train of 5 cars there are only two conductors and only two open doors(upon landing). Accordingly, you have to run (while standing for a minute) to the nearest open door...
If it turns out that the address door opening button worked, the door opened, but there is no conductor behind it (for some reason the door was not blocked), there is a person right there who puts you out of the car and demands to go to the door with the conductor.
Why the European system of boarding passengers at all doors with later ticket checks cannot be used on such trains - I can’t imagine. This is also supported by doors that automatically close after a fixed time after they are opened. Therefore, when boarding passengers at the station, the conductor needs to not only check tickets, but also immediately prevent the doors from closing, many times over.

10. One of the doors of the Lastochka electric train. In the center of the door is a green button for targeted door opening. There are no vestibules on the train, and therefore no smoking areas. Smoking is prohibited on this electric train, which is also written on the ticket.

So, you got into the carriage and begin to look for your seat.
The seats in the electric train are arranged in a 2+3 pattern. There are seats opposite each other (most of them) and behind each other (there are much fewer of them), plus folding seats.
I did not find any problems with the numbering of places. Seat numbers are located under the luggage rack. Window seats are odd-numbered, all other aisle, middle, and reclining seats are even-numbered. The place located near the window is marked with the corresponding pictogram.
There are hooks for clothes under the seating strip. The beauty of these hooks is that they can be moved along the entire window to a place convenient for you. About the reliability of coat hooks, I will only say that they were not strong enough for me - operation will show.

11. Numbering of seats in the car of the Lastochka electric train, hooks for clothes

Now let's go through the composition a little and look at the interior, some types of seats and the bathroom.

12. Salon of the head car. The head carriages of the train are designed, among other things, to transport persons with disabilities. The carriage has space for wheelchairs. The head cars also have a huge bathroom. The photo shows the usual passenger part of the head car

13. The seats, as I already said, are mostly located opposite each other, but there are also seats next to each other. The seats are soft, red and blue, and the arrangement of multi-colored seats is chaotic. This is quite interesting - it doesn’t blur the eye. There are armrests between the seats. There is no seat back adjustment. The distance between the opposite seats, in principle, allows two people of average proportions to accommodate. But if the train is full and all the seats are occupied, then during a long ride you will no longer be able to stretch your legs - this is a significant disadvantage for this arrangement of seats in an electric train, which is planned to be operated on regional lines.

14. This is a folding seat. For now, sales for such folding seats are closed. But, as far as I know, tickets to “Swallow” will soon be sold for these seats, and at the regular rate without discounts.

15. The bathroom is huge - especially for people with disabilities. Dry toilet, washbasin. The door opens manually in a semicircle. For some reason, when departing from Veliky Novgorod, everything was fine with the bathroom, but halfway to the city, in front of the entrance, the “For service personnel only” indicator lit up...

16. Amazing folding seats - similar to the upper side shelf near the toilet in a reserved seat. Not only that, there are no windows here, but also people who want to go to the toilet will walk on your feet. I probably won't say anything about the smell.

17. And these are racks for storing skis. After all, electric trains are planned to be used at the Winter Olympics.

18. Garbage bin next to the doors. Its capacity is several half-liter bottles

19. Stand with information booklets, magazines and newspapers. It is also located near the door, glued onto the glass partition.

20. Interior of an intermediate car of an electric train. There are many, many seats for people without limiting their capabilities.

Let's move on to the issue of information notification for passengers.
Each carriage has several tickers. In two languages ​​(Russian, English), the ticker shows the destination station, train route, outside air temperature, current time, date, and train speed.
And if on the trip on January 23, 2013 from Tosno to St. Petersburg the ticker worked great, then on the way to Novgorod there were significant inconsistencies with notifying passengers...
It is still not at all clear why on such a ticker one should not write the number of the car in which the passenger is currently located. It's a small thing, but it's annoying.

21. Running line in the car of the Lastochka electric train

When traveling to Novgorod on January 26, 2013, the ticker worked ambiguously.
Although the train has two destinations - Bologoe and Veliky Novgorod, only Bologoe was indicated on the ticker, which was very confusing for some passengers. After Chudovo, the next stop was Malaya Vishera. Judging by the information board, the train wanted to go directly to Veliky Novgorod only after the double train was uncoupled at the Chudovo station, and initially they announced the departure of the train from Chudovo towards St. Petersburg.
Also, all the way there and back, the time on the information board did not correspond to the actual time - it was exactly two hours behind it...

22. Information board in the head car. The electric train travels at a maximum speed of 160 km/h.

You board a train and, let’s say, you need to recharge your mobile phone. There are not many sockets on the train - 8 per carriage. But this is not what is interesting, but the location of these sockets: look at the next photo.

23. One of the characteristic locations of the socket in the car of the Lastochka electric train.

The socket is located... ...in the area of ​​the luggage racks. Let's imagine a socket, a tee included in it and several chargers... For me, the number of sockets and their location do not correlate with the class and purpose of such a train.
But that's okay. Let's say you still plug the charger into the socket, connect the phone to it and... ...you have to hold it in your hands, since there are no tables on this train as a class, and the "window sill" by the window has beveled position - nothing can be placed on them.
Taken together, I consider these parameters to be a huge omission in the design of this train in terms of passenger comfort and travel quality.

24. Numbering of places, hooks for clothes, hammer for emergency window breaking.

What else can you say about this train:
1. There are manual doors between the train cars. Sufficient force is required to open the doors. I have repeatedly seen that these doors cause significant difficulties in opening them, for example, for girls or older people.
2. Inter-car passages are not sealed enough and it is simply cold in them. This cold also spreads to the part of the car closest to the passage. And so, in principle, the presence of inter-car doors is incomprehensible - in the Stadler-Flirt train the joint is sealed and there are no doors.
3. The floor of the inter-car passage causes significant difficulties for rolling “technological equipment” - for example, mobile kiosks selling coffee, food, etc. This is due to the need to simultaneously open two relatively difficult inter-car doors.
4. Heating, as in electric trains of the ED4M series, can be carried out by a flow of cold air from a passenger sitting at the window.

For the reasons given above, I would give this electric train a “3+” rating.
Of course, this is a new era in the development of electric train traffic in our country. But such trains are more pleasant to see, and they are more consistent in their parameters with the usual commuter traffic, and not interregional. Taking into account the fact that a speed of 160 km/h can be reached in a limited number of sections in our country, the only advantage this train can have is its “dual system” - the ability to operate on both direct and alternating current networks. On regional lines, operating such trains over significant distances will simply be inconvenient for passengers.
In general, on this train I would note for myself the following, perhaps incorrect, conclusion - German build quality for the ordered not the best and in many ways harmful Russian layout (complete set) of the train. Still, this is not a train of European level. It’s better than any of the obsolete ED4Ms that were already outdated 20 years ago, but it’s also not that wonderful that could be obtained with a relative minimum of additional costs relative to the “Swallow”.
Well, the level of “service” from the personnel serving the train remains at the eternal Russian Railways level. Such is the “Poor “Swallow”.

Now a little directly about the route "Swallows" St. Petersburg - Veliky Novgorod.
The cost of travel on this route on the Lastochka is 400 rubles, which is only 30 rubles more expensive than a regular train - this is simply wonderful. The only thing is that you have to buy a ticket using your passport.
The train travel time from St. Petersburg to Chudovo is very long - you can safely waste 20 minutes. Maximum speed at 160 km/h, and in general the train reached speeds above 130 km/h only for short periods of time. The impression was that a regular electric train ET2M could also operate on this schedule.

In conclusion - a few tickets for high-speed electric trains "Lastochka"

I do not claim any completeness or impartiality of this post about the Lastochka electric train, but this is exactly the impression I got. Many estimates were made based on comparisons with the Stadler-Flirt electric train.
Thank you readers for your attention :)

In September we traveled from Novorossiysk to Rostov-on-Don on the Lastochka high-speed train. Details, my impressions, and also about the shame of Russian Railways under the cut...

First of all, I want to point out that I love trains. Much more than airplanes, and I travel on them often.
But I didn’t like this “Swallow”.

When the question arose about what to take to Rostov, there were options to take regular train long distance or try "Swallow". I had never been able to travel on Sapsan and other domestic high-speed trains (there are Swifts and Lastochkas). And the price of a train ticket was lower than for a regular train. That's why we chose "Swallow".

Travel time is a little over 6 hours. In fact, this is important because the train has only seats.

When I bought a ticket on the Russian Railways website, I had a choice - economy or business class? I looked at how the business differs, here is a screenshot:

First of all, I was attracted by the fact that there is a diet, since after 6 hours on the road your appetite will make itself felt...

But not everything is so simple for Russian Railways, as it turned out.

But let's take things in order.

"Leather chairs with adjustable backrests, individual lighting and power socket between the chairs"
Yes, everything here is true. This is what the Lastochka business class carriage looks like from the inside:

The chairs are indeed leather (though the type of leather remains a mystery to me), with high backs. The adjustment lever is located on the side:

But the adjustment itself is somehow strange. In fact, this is not an adjustment of the backrest, but an adjustment of the pillow, because by lifting the lever, you can move the entire chair forward, i.e. the pillow lengthens and the backrest becomes lower. The chair seems to be sliding down. I’m not sure that this adds comfort, you won’t be able to lie down anyway...

I liked the layout of the carriage. Firstly, there is different places. If you want to sit alone, you can choose a single seat by the window. Together, it’s also possible. Four of us - choose seats around the table. Very good!

By the way, tables with folding sections are convenient:

There really are sockets between the seats, but at first we didn’t notice them and used the one at the top, under the luggage rack:

"Self-service area (tea and coffee)"
In fact, there is nothing like this in the Swallow business class carriage! How so? But that’s it - no, that’s all. There's not even boiling water! You have to go to the next car to get it, where the cooler is installed. Russian Railways - no credit!

"Diet, soft drinks, press"
When we set off from Novorossiysk, I approached the conductor and asked if they would provide food. The answer was negative. She showed me on my ticket that there was no abbreviation “U1”, which means the number of food rations. But the business class description includes meals - how can that be? It turns out that the description is common to all high-speed trains of Russian Railways. Whether there will actually be food or not is impossible to understand on the Russian Railways website until you buy a ticket. What a mess! :-(((
Yes, there were no soft drinks or newspapers either...

But enough about the sad stuff, let's see what else is interesting in the business class carriage.
Firstly, there is a dressing room:


I’m not sure if it will be enough for all passengers, but in winter it will be relevant.

Secondly, there are as many as 2 toilets in the carriage. The location is unusual: not from the edge of the car, as in long-distance trains, but in the middle part. One of them is located in close proximity to single places, and the second is opposite the dressing room. It is adapted for disabled people, the door is sliding:

At the beginning of the journey, everything is clean inside:

But do you know what's the worst thing? The fact that there are no toilets in the neighboring carriages! Yes, yes, “Swallow” consists of 5 cars, the travel time between the terminal stations is more than 6 hours, and there are toilets only in the first (business class) and fifth (economy) cars! Can you imagine this in 2017? This is real cruelty! Even if you bought a business class ticket, people from neighboring cars will walk past you the entire time you are traveling to the toilets and back. And after 3-4 hours, the toilet under such a load will turn from clean to terrible.
It is also worth noting here that the doors between the cars are not automatic, as in modern compositions long distance. They are sliding, i.e. You have to open them with both hands; it’s almost impossible to do it with one hand. What if you are going with children or an elderly person or a disabled person?

Russian Railways, why are you doing this? Stop it!!!
If the travel time is more than 3-2 hours, the toilets must be in everyone carriage!

Now let's talk about how this "Swallow" flies and rides.
Firstly, between Novorossiysk and Rostov it makes about 9 stops:

It’s hard to call this train high-speed on the section between Novorossiysk and Krasnodar. Mostly it moves at a speed of 40-60 km/h, only occasionally accelerating to 85 km/h:

The information board hung very close to my seat, so it was possible to monitor the speed.
After Krasnodar we drive faster and once the heat reaches up to 140 km/h, but only once:

The duration of the stops varies. From 2 minutes to 15. On some of them, the driver announces the parking time over the loudspeaker. Automatic parking doors do not open in all carriages. This is also announced in advance. As I understand it, this is how Russian Railways fights “hares”...

During the movement, an employee with a large cart walks several times from the beginning to the end of the train and offers drinks and sandwiches for an additional fee. The most difficult thing for her is to move with the trolley from one carriage to another; why the Russian Railways carriage developers made such inconvenient doors is a mystery to me. The business class has an air conditioning system - at a temperature outside of +34 degrees inside it was tolerable. True, for some reason the air conditioning was turned off a couple of times, but then, at the request of passengers, they were turned on again...

It was hard for us to drive for 6 hours. Many passengers got off at intermediate stations. Almost a whole carriage left in Krasnodar, but new passengers immediately boarded for Rostov...

Why did "Swallow" turn into a pig? Firstly, because of the situation with toilets. And secondly. When turning, very characteristic sounds reminiscent of grunting are emitted from the points of contact of the wheels with the rails. Not even reminiscent, but practically copying. Yes, these sounds are muffled, but they are very distinct and cause ridicule from passengers. Want to listen to them for 6 hours? Then you should go to Lastochka; in all other cases, from now on I will prefer a long-distance train...

P.S. I almost forgot: I would like to say words of gratitude to the Lastochka staff - the conductor of the business class carriage and the driver. They were as polite as possible. At the final station, the driver personally helped everyone descend from the carriage onto the low platform. The conductor smiled when communicating. Well done on this part, well done!