HSR Moscow - Petersburg

2024

Appointment of Oleg Tony as the head of the company "HSM Two Capitals"

In mid-May 2024, the general director of a company building a high-speed railway from Moscow to St. Petersburg was replaced. LLC "HSM Two Capitals" was headed by the former Deputy General Director of Russian Railways Oleg Tony. Read more here.

Approval of the construction of a high-speed railway between Moscow and St. Petersburg for 10.8 trillion rubles

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin approved in early June 2024 a project for the construction of a high-speed railway (HSR) between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The cost of the project is 10.8 trillion rubles, which makes it one of the largest infrastructure projects in the country. This is stated in the infrastructure development strategy until 2030, prepared by the office of Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin.

The HSR construction project includes the main conditions of the concession agreement, on the basis of which the implementation will be carried out. The grantor is the state, and the concessionaire is the investor who will finance the construction at the expense of his own and borrowed funds, and will also receive the rights to own and use all the infrastructure created.

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The document says that by August 1, 2024, the HSR project will be included in the list of self-sustaining investment projects, for the implementation of which the funds of the National Welfare Fund (NWF) will be used on a return basis. In 2025, it is planned to allocate at least 300 billion rubles from the NWF at a rate of no more than 1% to provide loans for the construction of the highway.

According to the data presented in the strategy, the construction of the Moscow-St. Petersburg high-speed railway is estimated at 1.7 trillion rubles, excluding the cost of entrances to the capitals. The launch of the highway is scheduled for 2028. Thanks to the new railway, the travel time between the two capitals will be reduced to 2 hours 15 minutes, which is significantly less than the current 4 hours.

In addition, the project includes the construction of three more high-speed highways:

• Moscow - Voronezh - Rostov-on-Don - Adler, worth 3.2 trillion rubles, will reduce travel time to 7 hours 50 minutes.
• Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod - Kazan - Yekaterinburg, worth 4 trillion rubles, will reduce travel time to 6 hours 36 minutes.
• Moscow - Smolensk - Minsk, worth 1.9 trillion rubles, will reduce travel time to 3 hours 4 minutes.

The total passenger traffic for all four highways is estimated at 64.7 million people a year. In particular, the railway to Adler should carry 17.2 million passengers, to Yekaterinburg - 21.1 million, and to Minsk - 3.8 million passengers annually.^[1]

Project approval, estimate of 2 trillion rubles

On February 15, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Verkhnyaya Pyshma (Sverdlovsk Region), where he visited the Ural Locomotives plant. At the site of the enterprise, the head of state held a meeting on the construction of a high-speed railway (HSR) between Moscow and St. Petersburg. According to the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, the main scheme of the HSR was agreed at the meeting.

According to the plan, a new route will be laid for the HSR, which will pass through six regions of Russia, the travel time will be reduced to two hours 15 minutes, and trains will run every 10-15 minutes. Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev said that the first 28 trains for the HSR are planned to be delivered to the line in 2028, their purchase will require 148 billion rubles. The ticket price will depend on the demand for a specific date and the number of stops.

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It is assumed that the project will be divided into two main stages: the St. Petersburg - Zelenograd section and exits from Moscow. Their cost is estimated at 1.75 trillion rubles and 221.5 billion, respectively. In the first case, they propose to sign an agreement with the concessionaire, in the second - to take money from the investment program of Russian Railways (the latter have already invested about 40 billion rubles).

The requirements for rolling stock required for operation on a high-speed railway (HSR or HSR) between Moscow and St. Petersburg are estimated at 44 high-speed electric trains. According to the deputy head of Russian Railways Oleg Tony, the train for high-speed railway highways will be equipped with a digital control system based on artificial intelligence. It will be able to reach speeds of up to 400 km/h and will be modified to transport high-yield and special goods, as well as be able to change the layout of the train interior. The passenger capacity of the train will be about 460 people.^[2]

2023: Construction begins

At the end of August 2023, it became known about the beginning of the construction of a high-speed railway between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The deputy head of the Ministry of Transport Valentin Ivanov told reporters about this.

According to him, railway exits of sections of the highway from Moscow are being created. Ivanov said that the cost of implementation is estimated at 1.7 trillion rubles, specifying that the financial and economic justification of the project will still be discussed, and its cost is planned to be updated.

Began to build HSR Moscow-Petersburg

Now the key rate has changed, this will seriously affect the financial model, - explained the deputy minister on August 24, 2023.

Valentin Ivanov said that Sberbank is ready to participate in financing the project. Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank Anatoly Popov confirmed that the credit institution is ready to participate in the syndicate of the largest banks in financing this project.

For Russia, with its huge distances, such a project is extremely important. HSR "Moscow - St. Petersburg" is the beginning of the development of a network of such highways. The implementation of the project will reduce travel time between the two capitals to 2 hours 15 minutes, and by 2030 the total number of passengers on the highway will be about 22.6 million people a year, he told reporters at the end of August 2023.

Sinara - Transport Vehicles (STM) plans to supply rolling stock for the Moscow-Petersburg high-speed railway. As the deputy general director of the Sinara group Anton Zubikhin said on August 24, 2023, the company expects from 2028 to 2032. to produce 50 high-speed electric trains for HSR. Earlier, the company said that they would be able to reach speeds of up to 400 km/h.

In June 2023, Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev said that after the launch of the HSR, it could be extended to Minsk. According to him, there are already investors for the construction of the highway and the creation of rolling stock.^[3]

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