Russia's New Trains,Planes and Automobiles

By Rhod Mackenzie

Since the imposition of sanctions in 2022, Russia has embarked on a major programme of import substitution to reduce its dependency on Western technology and equipment. Let's take a look at how this is progressing in the transportation sector, focusing on trains, planes and automobiles.
The sanctions imposed on Russia by the West were, of course, designed to impede Russia's technological advancement. The most significant impact was felt in the most advanced industries, including transport, machine tool manufacturing, electronics, and the oil sector.
A significant number of leading global manufacturers who possessed the most advanced technologies and supplied essential components to Russian companies chose to withdraw from Russia.
Back in 2022 At the SPIEF forum, President Vladimir Putin emphasised the importance of focusing efforts on critical areas for the country's development where in-house competencies are essential. 'It is also essential to develop the entire technological and production chain, including our own equipment, components, software, and of course, our people and personnel, as well as scientific developments and basic solutions.'
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He stated that these tasks are not only relevant to the high-tech sector, but also to any industry where dependence on foreign supplies is unacceptable. In autumn 2022, the government set up a team to oversee a series of import substitution projects, which began to be implemented in 2023.
Currently, a total of 162 government import substitution projects are being implemented across a range of sectors in Russia, including the chemical and forestry industries, ferrous metallurgy, machine tool building, heavy engineering, the automotive and aviation industries, and railway engineering.
The total investment in these projects amounts to 5.2 trillion rubles ($65 billion), which demonstrates the government's commitment to this initiative.
It should be noted that this figure does not include corporate projects implemented by companies without government budget financing.
Four areas stand out as particularly noteworthy examples of implementation that started in 2023.
This is particularly evident in the field of transport, which is critical for a vast country like Russia. These examples demonstrate how, following the departure of foreign suppliers, Russian industry has been able to produce final samples of key serial products independently.

Automobiles
In 2021, domestic passenger cars (Lada and UAZ) accounted for just 22% of the Russian market. At the same time, approximately 60% of imported vehicles were assembled in Russia, with slightly over 18% being imported. Until 2022, AvtoVAZ, a Russian manufacturer, was majority owned by the Renault Group, which held a 67.61% stake. The French had significant influence beyond mere shareholding and managerial appointments. They played a pivotal role in developing new Lada models based on global platforms and assembled using components sourced from around the world.
 Following the departure of its major foreign shareholder and several suppliers in 2022, the outlook for the Russian giant AvtoVAZ appeared grim. However, in mid-December 2024, the plant celebrated an important achievement — producing its one millionth car independently, without Renault's involvement. So how does the Togliatti giant operate today.
The path to reaching the one million mark was challenging for the plant. After the co-owner, Renault, left in spring 2022, it was predicted that the plant would either die a painful death or face long downtime.
However, Maxim Sokolov, the enterprise's head, noted that 'the partners underestimated the potential of AvtoVAZ and the true Russian character'. AvtoVAZ resumed car production in June 2022. Initially, it was the tried-and-tested classic models that returned to the production line. The first was the Granta Classic. Then the plant resumed production of Niva models. As the company reintroduced popular models to the market, it gradually incorporated popular features into their specifications, such as air conditioning, airbags, a multimedia system, and ABS. In 2023, the plant resumed assembly of the Vesta model, and in 2024 it began producing the Largus family. The launch of the Aura flagship model in the same year was significant as it symbolised the company's revival. Vladimir Putin personally launched this car in October 2024.
So the Russian automobile is still in there fighting for market share.

High-speed trains
For many years, German company Siemens was been the most important partner of Russian railway transport manufacturers. They produced the Sapsan and Lastochka trains, Russian Railways' most modern and technically advanced electric trains, were developed and introduced on the line by the joint venture company.
However, despite Siemens' withdrawal from Russia, production of the Lastochka train continued. A new, import-substituting version of the train was quickly developed and initially designated ES104.
The components and spare parts are now all made in Russia and supplied by enterprises from across the country. The floor and windows originate from St. Petersburg; the ceiling and entrance doors are sourced from Moscow; the diode panel is supplied by Yekaterinburg; the luggage racks are produced in Krasnoyarsk; and the seats are manufactured in Novorossiysk. The new train features a new traction drive, on-board computer and air conditioning system, all of which are manufactured in Russia.
So the former Lastochka has been rebranded as Finist. On 28 November 2023, Russian Railways took delivery of the first two trains, which are now 100% locally sourced.
On 28 December 2023, the first fully import-substituted version of the Lastochka electric train, named Finist, began its inaugural journey on the Sverdlovsk Railway (SvZhD) between Yekaterinburg and Kamensk-Uralsky. A total of eighteen Finist trains have been delivered to the SvZhD, with a further ten expected before the end of the year.
Now the construction of Russia's first high-speed railway between Moscow and St Petersburg is currently underway as part of the national project 'Efficient Transport System'. The railway is expected to stimulate large-scale technological and economic change for decades to come.
It is an electrified, double-track railway line designed for trains to operate at speeds between 250 and 400 km/h.
The high-speed railway passes through six regions of the Russian Federation, which are home to around 30 million people — approximately 20% of the country's population.
According to Minister Vitaly Savelyev, high-speed trains will run every 10–15 minutes and the journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg will be cut from four hours to two hours and 15 minutes. The project will be carried out on a public–private partnership basis under a concession agreement.
It is estimated that around 1.7 trillion roubles or around $25 billion will be invested in building the HSR, with the first trains scheduled to run in 2028.
Do not this amount is a fraction of the amount spent by the UK on its so Called High Speed 2 railway which is still in chaos or the California high speed rail ling between San Francisco and Los Angeles which probably will never be built.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it seemed impossible that the Russian aviation industry would be able to produce a completely domestic aircraft with its own Russian PD-8 engine. However, the MC-21 has now made its first flight.
This is a significant development in the global aircraft manufacturing market, as none of the major players – Boeing, Airbus or Embraer – are capable of producing aircraft independently. These companies' component suppliers are located across the globe. Despite Russia's recent progress in designing and manufacturing aircraft bodies with fillers (a process assisted by foreign suppliers), it still faced challenges in developing aircraft engines independently.
These engines represent a significant engineering feat, highlighting the complexity and importance of the aerospace industry. Despite their extensive experience in replicating Western technologies, Chinese manufacturers have yet to achieve a breakthrough in aircraft engine production.
The Russian MC-21 has become a symbol of Russia's ability to overcome the vast number of sanctions imposed on it by the US and its allies.Despite the significant pressure,as part of the import substitution programme, the composite wing and engines were replaced, with a total of approximately 80 systems and units being substituted. with the first all Russian MC-21s scheduled to enter airline service as early as the middle of 2026. This was announcement was certainly not anticipated by many in the West.
So there you have in trains,planes and automobiles Russia is standing on their  own and confounding the west. Import substitution is succeeding in every area it is being tried in.,