Newly released photos have provided a glimpse into the lavish interior of the 22-car ‘ghost train’ that Russian President Vladimir Putin travels through his country in comfort and secrecy.
The train includes a completely equipped gym or ‘sports automobile’, a massage and skincare area with ‘anti-aging machines’, a tiled and fully equipped hammam, in addition to luxurious bedrooms and ornate dining cars.
There’s also a movie show, several cars stuffed with communication systems that allow Putin to remain connected and informed about the outside world in any respect times, and a complete automobile with a diesel power generator.
The train is heavily armored, the doors and windows are bulletproof, and it’s stocked with life-saving equipment and medical equipment.
Details about the train File Centera London-based group supported by Kremlin critic and exiled Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, whose aim is to review the inner workings of Russia, in line with CNN.
![Vladimir Putin's presidential train is said to have 22 luxury carriages and state-of-the-art communication systems](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013867039.jpg)
![One of the ornate dining rooms on the other side of the sprawling train that Putin has used extensively in recent years](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013867050.jpg?w=1024)
The Dossier Center said it obtained inside details about the train from a source in the Russian company Zicron Service, which the state railway company Russian Railways hired to equip the train to be used by the Russian president.
In accordance with the Dossier Center, the production costs of the train cost the Russians about $74 million, and annual maintenance about $15.8 million.
Putin’s extensive use of trains has long been the subject of public records, and the Kremlin itself has previously published photos of him conducting state meetings in lavishly gilded rooms.
Nevertheless, the Kremlin denied that the images and details in the Dossier Center’s findings got here from Putin’s train.
“President Putin has no such automobile in his use or possession,” Russian officials told CNN.
![Putin reportedly uses the train to avoid radar detection, which the presidential plane would be unable to avoid](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013848126-1.jpg?w=1024)
![The tiled hammam and steam room on Putin's presidential train is one of the many luxurious amenities](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013867045.jpg?w=1024)
![Massage and beauty salon on Putin's train. Apparently he has](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013867041.jpg?w=1024)
Amateur train watchers in Russia have long suspected and documented the existence of Putin’s ghost train.
On blogs, hobbyists have repeatedly reported seeing a train speeding along Russian tracks that was not listed in any timetable or registered in any official railway database.
This train has at all times pulled a wagon with a particular white dome, which is alleged to deal with the antennas and satellite nodes that maintain Putin’s intricate communications network.
Insiders say that Putin prefers to travel by rail slightly than by plane because of the secrecy and security that stay on the ground provides.
“As soon as the plane takes off, it immediately crosses the radar of the flight,” said Gleb Karakulov, a former member of the Federal Security Service, which is tasked with ensuring the security of the Russian president.
“The train is used to in some way disguise these movements.”
![The gym in the fitness center on Putin's train. It has recently been re-designated as American-made machines](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013867043.jpg?w=1024)
![Putin's train has many carriages filled with state-of-the-art communication networks that are always active](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013867047.jpg)
![The plans and details of the train were uncovered by the Dossier Center, which studies Russia's inner workings](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013867049.png)
The train was reportedly first put into service in 2014 and saw a big increase in usage when the Russian invasion of Ukraine took place in 2022.
Karakulov said dozens of crew members were on duty around the clock to operate the train, each waiting in quarantine in order that Putin could stay protected from illness on board.
“Our employees were in quarantine especially for this special train,” Karakulov said. “Since the starting of the war, the guys said that they left somewhere in the direction of Valdai for 40 and even 45 days.”
Earlier reports from the Russian website Proekt said that a complete railway line had been built across Russia, linking Putin’s many private residences to major railway arteries, together with secret stations to which only his train had access.