Velaro RUS has set a new speed record during trial runs on the St. Petersburg–Moscow route. Called the “Sapsan” (peregrine falcon) in Russia, this new train sped over the section of line between Okulovka and Mstinskiy Most at 281 km/h – that’s ten percent faster than the planned top operating speed. “This is the first time that such a speed has been achieved on the Russian railway,” announced Valentin Gapanovich, Senior Vice President of Russian Railways (RZD). The pictures shows Valentin Gapanovich (in the middle) on the day of the speed record.