Russian Railways (RZD) is hoping to launch its planned Moscow-Kazan high-speed railway by 2022, according to a statement made by RZD’s CEO, Oleg Belozerov, at the International Forum on Energy Efficiency and Energy Development.
“We have come a long way with our Chinese and European partners in pulling this project together, and we believe that by 2022 we will go beyond Vladimir, probably as far as Kazan,” Belozerov said.
The railway’s design has reached its final stage, Belozerov stated, and the plan covering the area extending to Vladimir is ready to be reviewed by GlavGosExpertiza, a federal assessment agency.
The total investment costs are estimated to be more than EUR 14.6 billion. It is possible that in the future the Moscow-Kazan stretch will be part of a greater Moscow-Beijing high-speed line, code-named “Silk Road,” which will link China with Europe and the Middle East.
To construct the railway, China is ready to issue a 20-year EUR 5.86 billion loan and EUR 1.46 billion as a contribution to the shareholders’ equity of a newly created company.
The project will be partially financed by a German consortium (formed by Siemens, Deutsche Bahn and Deutsche Bank), which offered EUR 2.7 billion.
The high-speed rail will extend over 770 kilometres, allowing for a top speed of 400 km/h. Travel time between Moscow and Kazan will drop significantly from the current 14 hours to 3.5 hours.
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