Comprehensive Testing of HSR Slab Track Begins at the Sablino – Tosno Testing Site
Testing of the HSR slab track has begun In the Leningrad Region at the Sablino – Tosno testing site, built by Natsproektstroy and Russian Railways. Today, the site was visited by Oleg Belozerov, Head of Russian Railways.
23 September 2026
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During preparation of the testing site, Natsproektstroy companies placed the subgrade and laid the concrete foundation and 207 NGP 4.0 track slabs.
The track structure was assembled in field conditions for the first time, with the technology being refined in the process: 14 types of self‑compacting concrete with special recipe were used to select the optimal option.
For the first time, a high‑precision coordinate system was deployed at the testing site, to which a robotic total station is linked — it compares the position of the slabs with the design position in a real-time mode. Height deviations do not exceed one millimetre; in this way, a crew of builders laid 24 track slabs per day.
The HSR track structure is now being tested under the load of a Sapsan train, several carriages of which have been converted into a mobile laboratory. Specialists are assessing ride smoothness and the impact of the train on the infrastructure. More than 1,500 sensors on the track and inside the subgrade monitor temperature, humidity, pressure, and embankment movement.
The key feature of the Russian slab track is the NGP 4.0 slab developed by Natsproektstroy. It is a composite structure made of high‑strength concrete and an elastic polymer, with a service life of at least half a century. The polymer layer reduces track stiffness and enables alignment or replacement of mainline elements during short night service windows.
Two 1/25 turnouts, each 118 metres long, have been installed on the section. They will be controlled by a hardware‑software complex from Elteza (a subsidiary of Russian Railways, also part of Natsproektstroy), which enables remote or automatic switching of the turnouts and continuous diagnostics of their condition.
The test results will be used to confirm the design characteristics of the track structure, refine installation and operating technologies, and prepare engineering solutions for deployment across the entire first Moscow – St. Petersburg HSR line.
The track structure was assembled in field conditions for the first time, with the technology being refined in the process: 14 types of self‑compacting concrete with special recipe were used to select the optimal option.
For the first time, a high‑precision coordinate system was deployed at the testing site, to which a robotic total station is linked — it compares the position of the slabs with the design position in a real-time mode. Height deviations do not exceed one millimetre; in this way, a crew of builders laid 24 track slabs per day.
The HSR track structure is now being tested under the load of a Sapsan train, several carriages of which have been converted into a mobile laboratory. Specialists are assessing ride smoothness and the impact of the train on the infrastructure. More than 1,500 sensors on the track and inside the subgrade monitor temperature, humidity, pressure, and embankment movement.
The key feature of the Russian slab track is the NGP 4.0 slab developed by Natsproektstroy. It is a composite structure made of high‑strength concrete and an elastic polymer, with a service life of at least half a century. The polymer layer reduces track stiffness and enables alignment or replacement of mainline elements during short night service windows.
Two 1/25 turnouts, each 118 metres long, have been installed on the section. They will be controlled by a hardware‑software complex from Elteza (a subsidiary of Russian Railways, also part of Natsproektstroy), which enables remote or automatic switching of the turnouts and continuous diagnostics of their condition.
The test results will be used to confirm the design characteristics of the track structure, refine installation and operating technologies, and prepare engineering solutions for deployment across the entire first Moscow – St. Petersburg HSR line.
