Vitebsk, June 19The head of the Russian Ministry of Transport, Vitaly Savelyev, agreed with the idea to consider the possibility of building a high-speed railway line (HSR) from Russia to Minsk, extending the Moscow-St. Petersburg route planned for construction.
The question of the high-speed rail line to Minsk was asked to the minister during the government hour at a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia. Savelyev reminded in this regard that in Russia it is planned to build a Moscow-St. Petersburg high-speed line. «And at the next pace, we will see the second part of the road — to Minsk. Let's just think it over together, let's see how much it will cost and what it will give us,» Savelyev replied.
The representative of Russian Railways said that the Moscow-Minsk HSR project was previously considered as part of the creation of a global promising high-speed railway corridor «Eurasia» along the route Moscow-Smolensk-border with Belarus. «The detailed technical and economic parameters of the Moscow-Minsk high-speed rail project require a comprehensive assessment. The construction of the high-speed rail infrastructure for the High-Speed Railroad-1 project within the boundaries of Moscow and St. Petersburg is being carried out as part of the development programs for the Central and St. Petersburg transport hubs,» the company added.
RZD should prepare the exits of the high-speed line from Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the main section of this road is supposed to be built on the principle of concession. Deputy Minister of Transport Ivanov named the Sinara group among Russian companies showing interest in participating in the construction of high-speed lines. The readiness to invest in the construction of high-speed lines in Russia at SPIEF-2023 in June was announced by the main beneficiary of Severstal, Russian businessman Alexei Mordashov, noting that the issue is in the conditions.