RUSSIA PLANS TO MODERNIZE ITS RAILWAYS TO MONGOLIA

Ulaanbaatar, /MONTSAME/ Russia plans to modernise its state-owned railways and integrate a network that extends as far afield as China and Mongolia with the railway systems of Europe.
Russia this week entered the modern railway age with its first high-tech express train. The Sapsan train, whose gaudy red bodywork is in sharp contrast to the bottle green that adorns most Russian trains, started running last Thursday on the route between Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
The route between the country's two main cities was until now largely served by overnight trains which shared the same romance as the Trans-Siberian railway but crawled to their destination in some eight hours. But now travellers can take the Sapsan (Peregrine Falcon) which cuts journey time between the two cities to just three hours forty five minutes and appears set to revolutionize the Russian concept of train travel. It is a centrepiece of Russia's plans to modernise its state-owned railways and integrate a network that extends as far afield as China and Mongolia with the railway systems of Europe.
S.Batbayar
15.05