MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. The Russian railway monopoly Russian Railways (RZD) will build a 140-km (87-mile) electrified two-track section in southern Russia bypassing the Ukrainian territory, the RZD press office said on Thursday.

The new railroad will link the Zhuravka railway station in the Voronezh Region and the Millerovo station in the Rostov Region, RZD’s statement said.

RZD has already invested 100 million rubles ($1.5 million) from its investment program in the new railroad’s designing while the federal budget stipulates the allocation of 7 billion rubles ($105 million) in 2015 for the continuation of the design work and the launch of construction.

The construction of the new railway section is expected to be over by 2018, the RZD said in a press release.

The Russian government has made a decision on launching the construction of a railway road in early 2015 for trains running from Russia’s central to southern regions in circumvention of Ukraine.

The project requires building a new rail link between the Zhuravka and Chertkovo railway stations - a distance currently covered by trains across the Ukrainian territory. The project also envisages upgrading a trunk railway between Prokhorovka and Bataisk to expand passenger traffic.

The project is estimated at 55 billion rubles ($820 million).

Russia’s Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said in December 2014 the construction of the railroad bypassing Ukraine should be completed at the turn of 2018-2019.