AI to Drive Russia’s Next High-Speed Train

Russian Railways is assembling its first driverless high-speed train, controlled entirely by artificial intelligence. The project marks a breakthrough in the country’s transport infrastructure.

At the international railway exhibition “PRO//Motion.Expo,” Oleg Belozerov, CEO of Russian Railways, announced that trains on future high-speed lines will operate without drivers, relying instead on AI systems. He emphasized that this is not a distant prospect: assembly of the first highly automated train will begin in the coming days.

The new train, dubbed “White Gyrfalcon,” is being designed from the ground up with full automation in mind. Capable of reaching speeds up to 400 km/h (about 249 mph), it is being built at the Ural Locomotives plant.

The first prototypes are scheduled for testing in the fall of 2027 on a trial section of track between Zelenograd and Tver.

The initial phase of the Moscow–St. Petersburg high-speed rail line will open in 2028. With AI-driven trains cutting travel time between the two capitals to just 2 hours and 15 minutes, the project could transform Russia’s logistics landscape.

If successful, the initiative will represent the largest rollout of AI in Russia’s transport infrastructure to date.