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MOSCOW, March 29 The current financial model for the construction of Russia’s first high-speed railway (HSR) Moscow-St. Petersburg involves attracting up to 300 billion rubles of funds from the National Welfare Fund, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Valentin Ivanov told reporters.
Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev in February, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the high-speed railway, reported that the basic option for financing the project involves 580 billion rubles from the National Welfare Fund. Following the event, instructions were given to refine economic aspects. First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov said at the start of high-speed rail construction on March 14 that issues, including sources of financing, had been worked out. He did not give details.
“We are now considering the option of a financial model with funds from the National Welfare Fund,” Ivanov answered on Friday on the sidelines of the final board of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation when asked whether the funds of the National Welfare Fund are included in the current financial model of the Moscow-Petersburg high-speed railway. “300 (billions of rubles – ed.),” the deputy head of the Ministry of Transport clarified when asked what amount we are talking about, taking into account the fact that earlier it was about 580 billion rubles from the National Welfare Fund.
Ivanov answered affirmatively to the question whether an option without these funds was being considered. “Yes,” he also answered a clarifying question whether we were talking about attracting from 0 to 300 billion rubles from the National Welfare Fund to the project.
High-speed is considered a specialized electrified double-track railway line for operating trains at speeds from 200 to 400 kilometers per hour. Now in Russia there are no such roads. The pilot project was the high-speed railway between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The length of the road will be 679 kilometers. Travel time between end points is 2 hours 15 minutes. The road will be fully operational in 2028.