Leaked documents have revealed secret details about Vladimir Putin’s private train. This train is reportedly used exclusively by the Russian president.
The revelations come from the Dossier Center, a London-based investigations group. It’s backed by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled former Russian oil tycoon.
Documents were reportedly leaked from an insider at Zircon Service. This company outfits train carriages for the Russian president’s office.
While Putin’s train use is publicly known, most of the carriages remain secret. The Kremlin has shared images only of an ornate boardroom carriage.
One specific carriage, numbered 021-78630, houses remarkable luxury facilities. A glossy brochure describes it as a combined gym and spa, according to CNN.
This train carriage was completed back in 2018. It originally featured Italian-made Technogym weights and resistance equipment.
These were later replaced with Hoist machines from an American company. Kremlin bureaucrats reportedly requested this upgrade despite the ongoing .
Beyond the gym, the car includes a full cosmetology centre. This features a massage table and advanced beauty equipment, according to CNN.
Documents mention a radio-frequency machine used for skin treatments. The room is apparently designed to prevent eavesdropping devices.
Further inside, a tiled bathroom houses a full Turkish steam bath. A proper shower facility is also included within this space.
The Kremlin has firmly denied these findings when questioned directly. It told CNN that has no such train whatsoever.
However, documents reportedly tie construction directly to top Kremlin officials. A 2018 meeting included 10 officials from Russia’s Federal Security Service.
This organisation, known as FSO, protects the Russian president. Maintenance contracts reportedly require FSO coordination for any train work.
In 2020, a Russian Railways official wrote to the FSO deputy director. He pleaded for approval regarding living quarters construction proposals, according to the publication.
Without this approval, contract procedures couldn’t proceed forward. This shows the tight security control surrounding train modifications.
A former FSO engineer, Gleb Karakulov, recently defected from Russia. According to him, Putin increasingly prefers train travel over flying.
He has explained that planes get tracked immediately once they take off. Trains, however, help conceal presidential movements more effectively.
Karakulov started working on this train system around 2014. Usage reportedly increased significantly ahead of Russia’s Ukraine invasion.
Since the started, the train has frequently been parked near Valdai. Putin maintains a large residence in this remote Russian region.
Staff are reportedly quarantined specifically before serving on this special train. Trips there have sometimes lasted 40-45 days.
“There is a ghost train on the railways of our country. It is not in the timetables or in the Russian Railways systems,” CNN quoted one trainspotter as writing.
Despite heavy secrecy, amateur trainspotters have tracked this mysterious train regardless. They identify it by distinctive features such as two locomotives.
A characteristic white dome also helps identify the train. This reportedly houses advanced communications antennae, according to documents.
This dome also appeared in a 2019 Kremlin video. It featured Putin travelling over the Kerch Bridge to Crimea.
What’s on Putin’s mind?
Understanding Putin’s mindset remains largely speculative for outside observers. Abbas Gallyamov, his former speechwriter, offered some personal insight.
“His feeling of political insecurity, I think, led him to start feeling more and more physically insecure.,” Gallyamov told CNN.
“There are a lot of people who are very close to him and who are choosing this insecurity for their own advantage, by him, look, there is a threat here, threat here, threat here,” he added.
Gallyamov described this pattern as genuine ‘paranoia’, building protective walls. Putin faces mounting pressure from the war, politics and declining popularity.
This isolation, Gallyamov suggests, creates its own problems for Putin. Officials worry he’s losing touch with the broader country.
The luxurious train may partly address this isolation problem. It potentially allows him to travel comfortably despite ongoing security concerns.
