MOSCOW, July 20 Preparatory work for the construction of Russia’s first high-speed railway (HSR) Moscow-St. Petersburg, the concession for which was signed, should begin in 2024, Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt told reporters.
The concession agreement on the implementation of the project for the construction of Russia's first high-speed highway Moscow — St. Petersburg was signed on July 5, reported Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. 
““There are stages, but construction should begin, at least preparatory work this year,” Starovoit said when asked about the timing of the start of large-scale construction of the Moscow-St. Petersburg high-speed line after the concession agreement was recently signed.
According to him, yesterday the government had one of the first meetings after signing the concession. The form of project management is determined, a project office is formed at the government site, regions actively participate, the routing and location of transport hubs are clarified, because this will directly affect passenger flow, convenience, and safety.
“These points are now being clarified,” Starovoit said.
High-speed is considered a specialized electrified double-track railway line for operating trains at speeds from 200 to 400 kilometers per hour. There are no such roads in Russia yet. The pilot project will be the high-speed railway between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The road will be fully operational in 2028. Travel time will be 2 hours 15 minutes.
Roszheldor previously announced that the construction of the high-speed railway will be carried out within the framework of a concession agreement, where the concessor is Roszheldor, and the concessionaire is LLC «High-Speed Railway Two Capitals», the founder of which is JSC «UK VSM Two Capitals», created by the Moscow government and CJSC » Leader».