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Experts praise 'promising' Eurasian high speed railway link between China and EU

Russian Railways said earlier that the construction of the HSR can be completed by 2026

© Russia's Defense Ministry/TASS

MOSCOW, August 24. /TASS/. The participants of the meeting of the Russian-Chinese work group on high-speed railway cooperation have considered a preliminary technical and economic feasibility study and deemed the project for the construction of the Eurasia high-speed railway link between China and the European Union (EU) promising, Russian Railways railroad monopoly said in a statement on Thursday.

According to preliminary calculations, the Eurasia high speed railway (HSR) will become the biggest project in the area of railroad transport in the world.

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Eurasia high speed railway from Germany to China can be built by 2026

"The level of shared understanding and the support provided to the project by authorities of both countries enable them to efficiently solve the key technological and organizational issues. We have managed to bring together positions in many areas since our last meeting," First Vice President of Russian Railways Alexander Misharin was quoted as saying.

The total length of the Eurasia HSR will be 9,447 km (Beijing - Moscow - Berlin distance), including the Russian segment of 2,366 km. The construction cost of the Russian segment is estimated at 3.6 trillion rubles ($60.9 bln).

Russian Railways said earlier that the construction of the HSR can be completed by 2026. The construction start at different segments varies from 2018 (Moscow - Kazan HSR) to 2023 (Krasnoye-Moscow and Chelyabinsk - Zolotaya Sopka). The Russian segment of the HSR is expected to be laid from Krasnoye Station close to the border on Belarus to Zolotaya Sopka Station in the vicinity of the border with Kazakhstan.

The work group's agenda also included consultations on issues related to financial participation of the Chinese side in the Moscow-Kazan high-speed railroad project. The sides discussed ways to share risks between the participants of the project, as well as the results of talks with Russian and international banks, global financial organizations, including the New Development Bank (NDB) BRICS, pension funds and insurance companies on the issues of financing, Russian Railways said.

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