The first rail strings for the high-speed railway were laid on the ballastless foundation of the Sablino — Tosno test section. The work was carried out using STM (Sinara-Transport Machines machine-building holding) equipment, which was used for such technology for the first time in Russia.
The equipment is controlled by specialists from the machine-building holding. The complex consists of three modules, each of which performs its own task.
The first module directly lays the rail strings. It is capable of moving on ballastless slabs and also has wheel, rail, and track drives.
The second module is installed on a railway platform and combined with a rail-laying train. It pulls the rail strings from the train and lowers them onto the ballastless foundation slabs to the first module.
The third module is a transport box with special ramps. It is designed for transporting the first module by rail.
STM equipment allows laying rail strings at a speed of 0.8 km/h. At the same time, the holding's specialists continue testing and checking the possibility of increasing the laying speed.