World's Longest High-Speed Train Heavy Maintenance - Mega Pit Stops

Mega Pit Stops - The longest high-speed train in the world gets the biggest overhaul of its life.

The Russian high-speed train Sapsan is the longest of its kind. Based on the ICE 3, this gigantic machine travels at over 250 kilometers per hour.

Sapsan means “peregrine falcon” in russian. Both, the falcon and the train are true long-distance-specialists. However, after 1.2 million kilometers, each Sapsan is due for its big R3-revision. Since the Sapsan trains have only been launched in 2009, for the first time ever now a Russian high-speed train returns into the depot for the biggest overhaul in its entire life span.

Every single part of the train is inspected and, if necessary, replaced. A highlight of the revision: disassembling and replacing the bogies. A critical part in the procedure - they are essential to passenger’s safety. Each of them weighs around 8 to 12 tons and yet have to be handled by hand! To do so, the massive train is separated into two halves. Now, 5 coaches (which means: 125 meters!) have to be lifted at a time. A delicate maneuver! All of the massive carriage jacks have to work accurately to a millimeter so that the heavy train won´t buckle sideways.

To meet the incredible tight schedule of only 34 days, every little detail of the R3 needs precise planning beforehand. “Smaller” repairs such as the change of pantographs or substitutions of interior can be quite time consuming. To double-up the speed of the R3, the engineers work parallel on both halves of the train, before the Sapsan gets a brandnew painting in the end.