Moscow-St. Petersburg high-speed railway project approaching practical implementation stage - Putin

MOSCOW. Aug 17 (Interfax) - Following lengthy discussions, the project for a high-speed passenger railway between Moscow and St. Petersburg has approached the practical implementation stage, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the inauguration ceremony of the third line of the Moscow Central Diameters commuter railway project on Thursday.

The need to scale-up high-speed railway projects in Russia was highlighted by Russian Railways (RZD) CEO Oleg Belozyorov, who was present at the ceremony. A high-speed line between Moscow and St. Petersburg would achieve three objectives; namely, reducing the time for passenger travel, developing freight transportation, and increasing the frequency of commuter services, he said.

"As concerns the northwestern [region of Russia], the current transportation volume is 145 million [tonnes], and we can't transport more," Belozyorov said.

"A strategy endorsed for the period up to 2030 envisions a figure of 220 million tonnes; that is, it should be nearly doubled. Therefore, we need to build new rail lines. High-speed railway would be optimal for attaining this three-pronged objective, as among other things it would enable the development of freight dispatchers from the Urals and Siberian regions, those who ship freight to northwestern ports," Belozyorov said, asking Putin to support the project.

Putin noted that "the first stage of the high-speed railway project, between Moscow and St. Petersburg, has been discussed for a long time."

"It seems to me that we have indeed approached the point where it could be implemented. We've discussed the problem for a long time from all standpoints, including the economic, financial, and a purely transport-related one. And indeed, if we build a new railway for passengers, then as far as I understand [Belozyorov], this would free the currently existing ones for freight transport. And this would considerably increase the speed of freight transportation, which is extremely important for the country's economy as a whole," he said.

If the project is implemented, it would reduce the time of passenger travel between Moscow and St. Petersburg from the current 4 hours and 5 minutes to 2 hours and 15 minutes, Putin said. Travel between Tver and Moscow would take 39 minutes, and 29 minutes between Veliky Novgorod and St. Petersburg, he said. "But certainly, this should only be the first phase of this work. Then we will certainly have to move to Nizhny Novgorod and Voronezh, from Nizhny Novgorod to Kazan, and from Kazan to the Urals region," Putin said.

He said the development of high-speed railway projects should be scaled up. "If it's laid from Moscow to Adler [Sochi], this would mean only ten hours of travel. This is an entirely different story for those who travel to the south for vacation. Certainly, we would have to think about bringing in both Lugansk and Donetsk here. And you know, it seems to me this issue should also be worked out with the Belarusian government. I'll talk to the president. The Minsk direction would be in high demand with both our citizens and Belarusian citizens," Putin said.

The development of high-speed train projects has been discussed in particular with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and Sberbank Chairman Herman Gref, Putin said. "Banks should definitely be involved in this work. They see good economic and financial prospects for themselves here," Putin said.

High-speed railway projects in Russia have been discussed for a long time, but no high-speed railways have been constructed yet. A railway line between Moscow and St. Petersburg should be the first such project to be implemented in practice. In July, the government instructed the Transport Ministry along with the Economic Development Ministry, RZD, Sinara Group, and Sberbank to elaborate the parameters of a high-speed line between Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The Transport Ministry estimated the project would cost 1.39 trillion rubles at the end of 2021. RZD intended to build the railway in 2027. It planned to finance access to both Moscow and St. Petersburg and a section between Kryukovo and Logovezh, while a section between Logovezh and Obukhovo required a concession. As part of the project, a concessionary was expected to receive about 470 billion rubles from the National Welfare Fund, including 222 billion rubles by 2024.

In late 2021, Putin said at a press conference that the high-speed railway project "still requires expert studies."

"If a high-speed railway is developed, air services on this leg, between Moscow and St. Petersburg, will cease to exist," Putin said amid continuing discussions on the project's feasibility.