Putin unveils construction of Russia's first high-speed rail line from Moscow to St. Petersburg

MOSCOW. March 14 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the go-ahead to the start of construction for the first high-speed railway line in Russia to connect Moscow and St. Petersburg on Thursday.

"The railway between Moscow and St. Petersburg will be the flagship starting phase. It will pass through six constituent federal entities where about 30 million people live, which is about 20% of Russia's entire population. In the future, such dedicated high-speed routes will also link other regions in our country," Putin said via video link at the railway's inauguration ceremony.

A high-speed rail line between Moscow and St. Petersburg is a prioritized and the most extensively elaborated project under a high-speed railway communication program in Russia. Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev told the president in February that the construction and operation of this line would cost more than two trillion rubles, with over 600 billion rubles provided by the state, including 580 billion rubles from the National Welfare Fund.

The first high-speed rail line is expected to start operations by 2028. Its use should reduce the time it takes to travel between the two cities from the current four hours to two hours and 15 minutes.

Speaking at a conference on transport in February, Putin said that "the construction of a high-speed rail line between Moscow and St. Petersburg is only the beginning."

"In the future, the organization of such a line towards Ryazan, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, and Adler, as well as Belarus's capital Minsk, will be absolutely natural and practicable," he said.

Russian Railways CEO Oleg Belozyorov said at the State Duma on Wednesday that the company expected to implement virtually all high-speed railway projects within the next ten to 15 years.