Grand Express: the first private train in Russia

Hello! You asked me to tell you about special trains. The closest thing was to get to No. 5 by rating (according to our reviews) - Grand Express Moscow-Petersburg. Above him, nothing arrives in Moscow. Actually, we were asked to enter a settling tank, where the train is serviced between flights, and talked there with the head of the train.

The train is considered a “luxury”, that is, it’s not just taking you from Moscow to Petersburg and back, but it does it with a special chic and with a bunch of additional services that are also convenient for business travelers. Probably, this is the most luxurious train of those that exist in our country. In the second car there is a separate bar, most of the compartments are double, in the part of the cars the passengers have their own toilets, showers and washbasins. From 2018, there is the “Economy Base” tariff, where there is nothing from services except linen, TV and Wi-Fi, and everything else like slippers and breakfast can be purchased. The goal is to provide the freedom to choose services without having to pay for unused.
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Come look at the restaurant and normal toilets on the trains. In general, the Grand Express can be viewed as a pilot for what will be included in 5-7 years in a compartment by default. Let's tell you how to spend the night between cities in business class.

Where did he come from

A long time ago, the company decided to carry tourists, but not just tourists, but premium class. They bought several cars and began to attach them to the trains, as the TKS now does, only made such VIP charters for stars, businessmen at the conference, and so on. In general, for those who usually fly business class, but does not see the point in an airplane between closely located cities. For a couple of years, a huge base of experience has been accumulated in what should be in such cars and how it should be arranged. When a more accurate business model emerged, they assembled two trains plying between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The cars were ordered by a special project at the Tver Carriage Works and were finalized at Zirkon-Service, which affected their internal structure and equipment. In July 2005, the first train was assembled, Tatyana Kolupaeva became the head of the train (she still works in the company).

There are always 14 cars in the train, plus two restaurants, and the 7th staff car. All passenger cars belong to the carrier. The exception is the dining car. Both are used in a long-term lease and re-equipped under the "Grand Express". At the time of our trip to the depot, one of the dining cars was removed from the train for scheduled maintenance, and it was replaced by a temporary one from Russian Railways (with a typical layout).

In high season trailer 15th car is used for tourist groups. It is sometimes used as a backup, because if necessary, take the car to a planned maintenance, there is no own replacement. The train goes for a short time without one of the cars.

The order of the cars is always the same, so at the train station, the train is treated as one unit. There are no illogical sequences like 1-2-3-4-5-17-6-7-8-21-22, although sometimes (when cars are withdrawn for maintenance), shifts like 1-2-3-4-5-6- are possible 8-9, when one of the cars brought to service.

The train is called firm everywhere, and de facto it is so; according to the classification, it is just fast. Officially, he does not have the title of a corporate train; the registered name of Grand Express is akin to the name of the company owner of Grand Service Express. It is possible that the owners decided that if their own standards are higher than the standards of a branded train, then there is no need to make extra regular certifications.

In addition to the planned maintenance, they also updated the cars for furniture and electrics. For example, updated outlets, including USB 5 V 1.5 A. Television was originally, but this subsystem was also modified under the new standards.

The remaining highways of the cars are standard.

schedule

23:40 Moscow Oktyabrskaya (Leningradsky Railway Station) - 08:36 Moscow Railway Station of St. Petersburg. On the way 8 hours 56 minutes. Back - 23:49 from St. Petersburg to 08:14 to Moscow (8 hours and 25 minutes, respectively).

Goes non-stop. At all.

Both departures - 20 and 11 minutes before midnight, that is, they give plus an additional day to the business trip. Both arrivals before the start of the working day, but after the opening of the subway. It is assumed that travelers will be ready to work immediately - this is not the train, after which you need to sleep again. Breakfast is on board, for a number of tickets a taxi transfer is already included (this is convenient for those who order tickets to conference delegates, etc. - all in one window).

This is the Economy Basic Coupe:

Wi-Fi enabled

Access to the network is free for all passengers. On the train, usually about 100-120 working access devices at a time.

The incoming channel is a bridge from the modems of four operators. Speed from 2 to 60 Mbit / s. There are six live TV channels plus two channels with entertainment content. TV networks and external Wi-Fi displays are separated.

What is there in the equipment?

In addition to the local network, I will note a few more important pieces.

Combined heating - drown in the train not with coal, but with liquid fuel. Someone in the post about why the car with electricity, the good old coal boiler, just asked why not to drown diesel fuel. No problems, it is more convenient for the conductors, it is more practical on these sections. And most importantly, there is no smell of coal.

In the compartment of the conductor, one button is pressed - and the heating starts. Do not get dirty.

Under the car tank 500 liters of fuel:

Despite the fact that the 3,000-volt highway is available throughout the entire Moscow-Petersburg section, there is also an 380-volt intercarriage network and its own generators from train traffic:

In the dining car there is another separate diesel generator in order to provide the car with electricity in parking lots. The train is served for boarding an hour before departure, and business passengers already want to eat. In the usual dining car you will need to wait for the start of the movement and the time of cooking. Here everything is ready for service even before departure. You can also order food in a coupe, you do not need to go anywhere.

Naturally, the heating circuit is used where there are no 3,000 volts. For example, in the sump, while the train is serviced.

About heating and air conditioning should be said separately. Each compartment has an additional heating button: under the table are two additional panels that can be turned on or off. Air conditioning cooling is also individual, adjustable independently by coupe. Ventilation with outboard air cleaning and forced circulation.

The cars have a very good maintenance-free lead-acid rechargeable battery 56PzV-385P ELHIM-ISKRA. True, for normal operation it is almost never used: it is very expensive (13 thousand euros), it is easier to change lead or alkaline. Of the benefits - it really holds the charge and withstands severe frosts. There are no problems with the batteries during the operation of the cars. A 380-volt highway is connected to the depot, but even if it does not exist, there will be light between the flights in the cars. And the cars will be powered before departure.

And one more important difference - insulation. Here is a coupe that is suitable for a couple in love. You can move the table ...

And turning the sofa into a huge 110-wide bed is the maximum available in a single compartment unit (the compartment of the luxury cars are made in two compartment blocks to fit a shower and toilet, and there are also such beds):

So if you have a romantic trip, you will definitely appreciate the sound insulation.

What is there in the service?

First look at the furniture and coupe trivia.

TV with application:

There is an order for all services, an alarm clock, a restaurant menu, any background information, food delivery from the dining car, television (both on-air and content channels), a library of films. And you can separately connect a USB flash drive, camera, phone or external hard drive and watch photos or videos from these devices. Taking into account the increase in IT literacy of the population (it seems).

In the basic compartment comfortable shelves:

Everywhere individual LED lamps:

All set of sockets (USB 1,5A, 5V):

Water and cereal bars are included in the ticket and are not worthy of mention:

Slippers are different, so that passengers do not confuse them. And in general, a society without color differentiation of pants has no purpose.

Stop-cranes - direct action, that is, opening access to the atmosphere immediately after the breakdown. Modern increasingly do with the signal to the driver:

Own dishes in the dining car. Everything is served as it should, with metal devices:

There are buttons to call the conductor, as in airplanes and hotels:

Safes (they will be placed in a compartment of ordinary trains in the next major release, but here they have been around for a long time, starting with the compartment "Class 1 - Business"):

Travel kits (differ depending on the class of service, but toothpaste and brush are always in 11 of the 14 cars):

Toilets with individual film in the compartment and CB-cars (in the rest there, there are individual toilets in the compartment):

Many passengers do not know this, but if you press the button, the toilet quietly murmurs and wound a new film on the rim in about 20 seconds. In these toilets there is a seat for those who change clothes:

The rest of the train cars consist of double compartments, that is, two people or one can ride in a compartment. At the same time, the coupe is bought entirely according to the special fare. Even if you are traveling alone, you still buy the whole coupe (just the price for a couple of thousand differs from double occupancy). This means that no strangers in the compartment of this train with you will not. You can go with the children in the same compartment, put protective sides (in the compartment cars hang arenas such):

That's what awaits you there:

There is an opportunity to put a special children's side even on the lower shelf:

Almost all cars have a fresh press to choose from, it is brought before departure:

If you go to the next car more expensive, where the coupe is already occupied by two standard blocks and come with its own shower, then the press there is a little different:

Your shower:

Your toilet:

Clock over the cabinet:

Electronic locks:

The cars are decorated:

And this module ensures the absence of unpleasant odors in the car:

On the most expensive places more interesting. Here is a bar in the second car for passengers in luxury cars:

The shower is bigger and already with tiles on the floor:

The toilet from the yacht, therefore, able to grind a towel in the fine dust. At the same time it works almost silently, reliable. These toilets for operation never clogged. The main thing with this toilet is not to put your hand in it. Although, again, the passengers had not yet occurred to it, fortunately. But all sorts of stuff disappeared.

Some toilets will recognize you and open as you approach.

In one of the Grand Imperial Single compartments there is a massage bed:

In others, it’s just Italian leather sofas that turn into those very healthy beds 110 centimeters wide:

During the maintenance of the car, a special track creeps. Before serving the train, it is removed, leaving only the carpet:

For children there are reduced rates: in luxury cars 1-4 and in 5-6 cars CB - up to 10 years free of charge, in the rest of the compartments - up to 5 years free. In luxury cars and SV (Premium, Premium Single) from 10 to 18 years is possible without additional space with a small surcharge of about 400 to 1000 rubles. In the remaining cars there are children's fares.

If you are not traveling in a four-seater coupe, then you have a transfer (starting from the 8th CB car). Directly at the car meets the driver with a tablet with a full name (or the conductor escorts to the car).

For passengers of luxury cars there is an opportunity to give a business suit to iron.

Some time on the Grand Express train there was a special IKEA car:

Restaurant car

The menu is international, so that any guest can find something to his taste. Seasons change, for example, now there is a Lenten menu. Regular updates on the model of test releases: for example, burgers were added a year ago in the summer as a special offer, then rolled onto the prod as a permanent one. Everything is prepared on the spot, not defrosting, not semi-finished products. Exception - curd products and small things, they are carried.

Staff compartment

There are two brigades attached to the train. Inside the brigade, the conductors change, there is no “own” car. By the way, the guides are also different from the usual. They do not deliver anything, coffee-tea is free (with the exception of three cars at basic rates). In luxury cars, only those who have completed a special course of etiquette (Russian and for English speakers) can serve. Many people work for years, and the list of passengers in VIP cars rarely changes, so at the sight of a familiar passenger on the list, the guides already know that this needs to be met with carrot juice, and this one likes to be served immediately because he wildly wants to eat after concert.

The conductor compartment is almost typical: