MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/. Foreign transport companies, including those from the CIS countries, are showing great interest in studying Russia's approaches to building the country's first high-speed railway (HSR) Moscow-St. Petersburg, Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit told TASS Director General Andrey Kondrashov in an interview ahead of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
"For us, the topic of the high-speed railway will be a landmark event. We are preparing a platform (at the forum - TASS) for a panel discussion on it. Our foreign colleagues - friendly countries, the CIS - are very interested in studying our approaches," he said.
Starovoit noted that the forum is a great venue to discuss current issues related to the project, including timely financing, financial model implementation, technical issues with component manufacturers, rolling stock, and the progress of the highway construction.
About HSR
The first high-speed railway in Russia will connect St. Petersburg and Moscow. The project is being implemented on the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The high-speed railway is designed for passenger traffic. It will pass through the territory of six Russian regions: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Leningrad, Novgorod, Tver, and Moscow regions. Trains will run at intervals of 15 minutes. By 2030, passenger traffic between St. Petersburg and Moscow will amount to about 23 million people per year.
According to the order of the Russian government, the design and construction of the Moscow-St. Petersburg high-speed highway is scheduled for 2024-2028, and commissioning - for the second quarter of 2028.
About SPIEF
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum will take place on June 18-21. This year, the event will be held under the theme "Shared Values: The Foundation of Growth in a Multipolar World." Thematic zones such as the ‘Territory of Innovations’ and the national brand space ‘Buy Russian!’ will operate at the Forum.
The Roscongress Foundation is the organizer of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. TASS is its information partner.