The Russian Defense Ministry has published a video of the operation of the Volga armored train in the zone of a military special operation in Ukraine.
“The Volga special train was created by the military personnel of the railway troops of the Western Military District and put into operation.
It is armed with the latest technology and is intended for technical reconnaissance, demining, as well as the restoration of the railway track and small artificial structures with minor damage, ”the Russian Defense Ministry noted.
Video: Russian Ministry of Defense
The train is equipped with an armored coating - steel plates with a thickness of ten to 20 mm.
Inside the wagons, the walls are lined with sandbags.
“This is a real armored train, armed, as they say, to the teeth.
The fighters have small arms - from machine guns to heavy machine guns.
It is also armed with an anti-aircraft gun.
Everyone who travels on this train can be calm - they are under reliable protection, ”the MO video says.
According to the military engineer, the speed of this rather heavy train depends on the terrain.
“Sections for us are already more or less tested, and there are where we pass routes for the first time.
Somewhere we gain more speed, we move more boldly.
Somewhere we check everything, we study, we practically pass bridges, crossings, artificial structures on foot.
We are inspecting everything so that there is certainly no danger, ”the serviceman explained.
A large number of automatic systems on the restored tracks are not yet working, and the arrows have to be translated manually, the military said.
“Riding, of course, is more difficult.
There are no dispatchers, there is no one to provide us with the transfer of arrows, so we have to stop, translate manually, redo something somewhere, but on the whole we manage, we are moving forward successfully, ”said the driver.
The revival of armored trains
The Volga is not the only armored train involved in the special operation in Ukraine.
In March, an armored escort echelon ensured the evacuation of foreign citizens from Ukraine to Crimea.
And in June, the Zvezda TV channel showed the work of the Yenisei special engineering armored train.
“This is a special train, which is armed with the latest technology and is able to accompany trains, cargo and, if necessary, carry out technical reconnaissance, demining assigned railway sections,” said the head of the special train.
The railway combat vehicle is equipped with ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft guns, which can hit targets both on the ground and in the air.
In addition, to repel an attack from the ground, the train has infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) placed on special platforms.
In the event of an alarm, the infantry fighting vehicles unhook from the armored train and enter the battle, descending from the platforms along the ramps, according to the Zvezda materials posted on the official Telegram channel.
At the same time, the locomotives of the armored train are not located at the end points of the train, as in civilian trains - in front of each of them there are two more platforms with weapons.
The use of armored trains by the RF Armed Forces attracted the attention of Western media as well.
So, in March, the American specialized portal The Warzone published an article discussing the appearance on social networks of the first video footage of an armored train in Ukraine.
“Although it may seem that the armored train is an archaic technique, whose time has passed with the end of the Second World War, it is able to provide more serious additional defense along critical railway lines.
This will release at least some of the other forces that are currently busy protecting the railway, ”the journalists of The Warzone noted.
Recall that the last time the Russian military actively used armored trains as part of the counter-terrorist operation (CTO) in the North Caucasus from 2002 to 2009.
Then a group of special trains assigned to the Railway Troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was created.
Platform with anti-aircraft installation of the armored train "Volga"
© Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
After the completion of the CTO, Anatoly Serdyukov, who at that time held the post of Minister of Defense, decided to eliminate armored trains due to the inappropriate use of them in the modern army.
It was ordered to dismantle the weapons and send the rolling stock for conservation.
However, after the resignation of Serdyukov, the head of the Ministry of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, in 2015 canceled the decree on the liquidation of the Baikal, Terek, Amur and Don armored trains in service with the Russian army.
Successful practice
The first armored train appeared in the Russian Empire in 1914 during the First World War and was a captured Austrian armored locomotive and wagons with a cannon and a machine gun.
However, the first widespread and successful use of armored trains, according to historical sources, occurred during the American Civil War.
It is worth noting that at that time, in the conflict between the North and the South, their use was popularized by the Russian military leader Ivan Turchaninov (known in America as John Basil Turchin), who fought on the side of the northerners.
Armored train #1 in 1941
RIA News
© Ivan Shagin
Armored trains were most actively used by the Russian army during World War II - at the beginning of the war, they compensated for the lack of tanks and artillery.
According to various sources, during the Second World War, up to 200 armored trains operated as part of the Soviet troops.
In an interview with RT, Vladimir Prokhvatilov, an expert from the Academy of Military Sciences, positively assessed Shoigu's decision to refuse to eliminate special trains as part of the Russian Armed Forces, as well as the practice of their use as part of the military operation in Ukraine.
“Armored trains in the Russian troops were revived several years ago.
Such a train is very well protected - it has both artillery and anti-aircraft weapons.
If a mine is blown up in front of him or the canvas is otherwise damaged, he can shift the rails with the help of special equipment and move on.
And it is very good that they have now decided to use them in the western direction, ”the expert emphasized.
Despite modern realities, the need to use such a train suggests that the current hostilities are conducted by analogy with the major battles of the past, Prokhvatilov added.
“Now the fighting is, in essence, following the patterns of the First and Second World Wars - with artillery duels and everything else.
In this context, the return of armored trains is a smart move.
No one has such weapons, except for us, ”said the interlocutor of RT.
The answer to the question whether such trains are outdated as an effective military means lies in the possibility of installing any necessary and modern weapons on its platforms, the expert emphasized.
“It’s like saying: “Airplanes are outdated” and at the same time showing cars from the beginning of the 20th century.
Now the planes are different.
And armored trains are different: with missiles, drones and air defense systems.
Anything can be loaded onto an armored train.
This is a mobile attack and defense system,” Vladimir Prokhvatilov emphasized.
In turn, the founder of the Military Russia portal, Dmitry Kornev, in an interview with RT, called it natural the revival of interest in the use of armored trains for military purposes.
“This is explained quite simply: wherever there is a railway, special trains can move, which are a mobile firing point and allow the use of this transport artery.
An armored train is a set of firing points: artillery, machine-gun, rocket.
This fire cavalcade can arrive on the way to the area and provide defense on it, ”the expert explained.
However, the main disadvantage of such a military means is also obvious - it cannot leave the railway, Dmitry Kornev noted.
“Accordingly, if the enemy retreats some distance from the railway, the armored train will no longer be able to influence him.
Nevertheless, if we talk about the defense of transport hubs, facilities, sidings of the railway itself, then the use of an armored train is absolutely justified.
It can also be used to escort trains with ammunition, military equipment or other military materials.
In the late 1960s, they were even used to guard the border in the Far East, where there were bad roads, but railways were laid, ”said Kornev.
According to the expert, the practice of using such trains will continue.
“You can create such a train right on the spot, thereby increasing the firepower of the armed forces and relatively quickly improving the defense of the railway arteries,” Kornev concluded.