Putin assesses chances of Russia having "train N1"
MOSCOW. Nov 29 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has not ruled out aircraft No.1 being replaced with train No.1 if Russia creates rolling stock that could travel from Moscow to Vladivostok within ten hours.
At a meeting between the president and the maintenance staff at Moscow-Kiyevskaya rail station, a female staffer asked the president whether he was ready to replace aircraft No.1 with train No.1, should engineers manage to create a high-speed train that would get passengers from Moscow to Vladivostok in ten hours.
"It is no secret that, as far as I know, government trains have existed since the 1930s, and they still do. In fact, given the size of our territory, one is compelled to use mainly air transport. Although the ideas you have just mentioned may, of course, bring about radical change and, perhaps, there will really be more opportunities for traveling by train," Putin said.
Asked if there was a chance of this happening, the president said: "There is."