Budget allocated to design Moscow–Kazan high-speed rail project

In 2015, JSC Russian Railways will be allocated six billion rubles from the federal budget to finance the Moscow–Nizhny Novgorod–Kazan high-speed rail line. This was announced by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at a recent meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister.

“The travel time between Moscow and Kazan as a result of this project can be reduced by four times. Foreign investors have shown great interest in the project, including our Chinese partners. The task is to quickly conduct engineering surveys and develop project documentation to decide on the financial model of the project,” said Mr. Medvedev.

The project, according to the head of government, will have “an obvious multiplier effect”. Its implementation will lead to the creation of new jobs and economic development and will also help connect Russia to global transport routes: the high-speed Moscow–Kazan railway will join the high-speed transportation corridor from Moscow to Astana (Kazakhstan) and Beijing (China).

The immediate task of the Moscow–Kazan high-speed project will be to hold bidding in 2015 for a contractor to carry out survey work and work on designing the road. After the project works and project approval are complete, construction of the line will begin, followed by its operation. The organisational and legal model of the project is a public-private partnership.