Russia’s high-speed train takes maiden trip

MOSCOW – A new high-speed train in Russia has arrived in St. Petersburg from Moscow in its maiden voyage, less than three weeks after the bombing of an express train on the same line killed 27 people.

Russian news agencies said the Sapsan, which means peregrine falcon, completed its three-hour, 45-minute journey Thursday night with a full complement of more than 600 passengers. It can reach a top speed of 155 mph on Russia’s rail infrastructure.

The minimum rail journey time between Russia’s two capitals had been on the Nevsky Express, which took 45 minutes longer to complete the roughly 435-mile journey. A terror attack Nov. 27 caused a Nevsky Express train to derail.