The first six-carriage double-decker train for railway company Aeroexpress has begun its ship journey from Muttenz BL via Amsterdam to the Baltic Sea right on time. The trains will be used on the lines running from the city centre of Moscow to the three airports. The first four of a total of 25 trains are being built by Stadler Rail in Altenrhein SG on Lake Constance. They need to be transported as part of a well-planned exercise via Basel (Muttenz), Amsterdam and Sassnitz on the Baltic Sea to the Stadler factory in Minsk. As the trains in all CIS countries are essentially taller and wider than in the rest of Europe, rail transport is not an option.

Even the first leg from Altenrhein SG to the river harbour at Muttenz BL provided a few challenges for the companies involved. In consultation with the authorities and the police in all the cantons passed through, a road route needed to be found which was even accessible with a vehicle of such massive proportions. Not only did height have to be considered, for example in order to prevent getting stuck when passing under a bridge, but width and length also had to be factored in. The latter two were most often an issue at crossroads.

After 13 months of planning, the transport project went ahead in mid-August, and the six carriages of the first train reached Muttenz BL in good time for the scheduled loading date last Saturday. Transport was then able to continue on a ship on the Rhine towards Amsterdam. From Amsterdam, the trains board a coastal cargo liner to Sassnitz via the Kiel Canal. They are then transferred to the Kaunas track ferry, which works on broad-gauge tracks; this will then take the train to Klaipėda in Lithuania. From there, the train will be transported on the broad-gauge route to Minsk, where commissioning work can be completed in the new Stadler factory.

Press Release of Stadler, 9 September 2014