Russia and China plan to launch first high-speed freight train in 2019
The train's speed will be up to 400 km per hour
SOCHI, June 8. /TASS/. Russia and China plan to launch the first high-speed freight train in 2019, First Vice President of Russian Railways Alexander Misharin said at the Strategic Partnership 1520 business forum on Thursday
"At the moment, the design of technical requirements for this special rolling stock is about to be completed, and together with our Chinese colleagues we planned to launch it in 2019," he said.
According to Misharin, the train will ensure optimal conditions for transportation of cargoes that are sensitive to speed and conditions of delivery, and its speed will be up to 400 km per hour.
Earlier in an interview with TASS, Misharin said that the trains for the Moscow-Kazan high-speed highway would be produced in Russia.
He recalled that the Sinara Group, Siemens and the largest Chinese manufacturer CRRC are already working on the freight train project. They may launch the production of trains at the Ural Locomotives enterprise, which is a joint venture of Sinara and Siemens. One more production site may be chosen in Central Russia, he added.
Ural Locomotives Limited Liability Company is a joint venture between Sinara Group and Siemens AG established at the site of the former Ural Rolling Stock Manufacturing Plant in 2010.
Russian Railways plans to launch of the high-speed railroad between Moscow and Kazan in 2022.
The total cost of the Moscow-Kazan high-speed railway line is estimated at 1.068 trillion rubles ($16.9 bln). The Moscow-Kazan section may later be extended to China, connecting the two countries across Kazakhstan.
China plans to extend a loan in the amount of 400 bln rubles ($6.2 bln) loan for 20 years for the high speed railway construction and allocate over 100 bln rubles as a contribution to the equity capital of the special project vehicle.
The Moscow-Kazan High Speed Railway’s total length will stand at around 770 kilometers. Trains may go at a speed of 350-400 kilometers per hour, and the time en route between the two cities could be 3-3.5 hours against the current 14 hours.