Excellent train: Putin ordered the construction of high-speed trains to Kazan and Minsk

The large–scale project of Russia's first high-speed railway line (HSR) Moscow - St. Petersburg has moved to practical implementation: work has been deployed along the entire route. This was announced by Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin at a meeting with Vladimir Putin on June 15. The highway will not only reduce travel time between megacities, but will also become a powerful driver for the economy. The next routes in line are Moscow — Kazan and Moscow – Minsk. Experts have already called the HSR an exclusive cross-border transport infrastructure. At the meeting between Putin and Nikitin, it also became known that the Ministry of Transport is starting work on a new concept for the development of water transport — it will be ready by 2027.

HSR will connect Moscow with three cities

On June 15, Vladimir Putin held a working meeting with Minister of Transport Andrey Nikitin. The focus was on the construction of the country's first high-speed railway (HSR), which will fundamentally change the transport connectivity of Russian regions.

The pilot project will be a high-speed railway between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The travel time between the cities will be 2 hours and 15 minutes. Work has been launched today along the entire length of the future highway, the Minister of Transport said. The construction required fundamentally new scientific and production approaches from engineers to ensure the operation of trains with speeds up to 400 km per hour.

— For the first time in the world, welding was carried out on a 980 mm profile. 400 km per hour is practically a different physics. There are requirements of a completely different level for security and permits," Andrey Nikitin clarified.

The assembly of innovative trains is strictly on schedule — specialists have already welded the first five cars for the future train. The most complex technical elements — the wheelset and traction drive — are completely Russian. They successfully pass comprehensive tests and are preparing for certification, which removes any risks of technological dependence.

In parallel, the most complex travel infrastructure is being created. One of the largest engineering structures on the highway will be an 8 km long bridge over the Shoshu River. A special challenge for builders is crossing existing highways, railways, gas pipelines and power lines. A factory for the production of unique reinforced concrete beams weighing 700 tons each has been launched specifically for the project.

Plans have already been formed for the further development of the high-speed road network. The next high-speed trains will connect Moscow with Kazan and Minsk. This will ensure maximum economic growth, Andrey Nikitin is sure. According to him, experts assessed the feasibility of the route in terms of reducing travel time, passenger traffic, investments and, of course, contribution to GDP. Vladimir Putin instructed to start preliminary work on projects for the construction of high-speed trains to Kazan and Minsk. The financial model for their construction will be prepared in 2028-2029, the minister said.

— As for [the project] Moscow – Minsk, Alexander Grigoryevich [Lukashenko] and I have discussed this many times, the president of Belarus supports it, so there will be no administrative difficulties here," Vladimir Putin said.

Russian and Belarusian businesses have already called this project a real exclusive cross-border transport infrastructure. It will stimulate the development of joint projects in the field of trade and finance, including trade turnover, investment flows, and the tourism industry, said Andrey Kopyt, Chairman of the Supreme Coordinating Council of the Union of Legal Entities Republican Confederation of Entrepreneurship.

— Through the Standing Committee of the Union State and through the business community, we will help to accelerate this project. The growth of passenger traffic, the stimulation of trade, the inclusion of the entire business in the management cycle — all this, of course, will affect the socio-economic development of the Union State, " he told Izvestia.

Transport accessibility will create considerable potential for investments in infrastructure facilities and logistics centers not only in Moscow and Minsk, but also along the route. And this will create new points of economic growth, RANEPA lecturer Tatiana Kosacheva told Izvestia. In addition, the highway will become the real embodiment of economic integration, effectively blurring the boundaries for business in the Union State.

How digitalization optimizes river transportation

Russia is also actively engaged in the development of water transport. While passenger transportation shows serious growth, freight logistics requires overcoming infrastructure deficits inherited from previous decades. The closure of ports in the post-Soviet period was a serious blow to the river infrastructure: since the 1990s, their number has almost halved. But the key condition for the growth of the cargo base is the availability of ports and railway approaches to them.

Today, work is underway that is already bearing fruit: three new ports have been built in Tatarstan and Yakutia. In parallel, large-scale infrastructure projects are being implemented at the Bagaevsky and Gorodetsky hydroelectric power plants. Special attention is paid to Siberia and the Far East. "It's a long distance, there are over 12,000 km," Vladimir Putin noted, assessing the scale of logistics.

The fleet is also changing. The average age of passenger ships is 38 years old, but the industry is on the verge of a major upgrade. New Meteors are being actively built in Nizhny Novgorod and the Leningrad Region. The flagship is Moscow, which has launched regular year-round river transport, built its own shipyard and plans to produce more than 40 state-of-the-art vessels.

A breakthrough in the management of the river economy should be its total digitalization. The head of the Ministry of Transport said that at the locks, the composition of the cargo is still recorded by hand in books from the words of the captain. Once implemented, electronic invoices will make cargo turnover more transparent.

"I understand that this will also help resolve the issue of balancing the redistribution of goods between different modes of transport," the president added.

The Ministry of Transport will start preparing a new concept for the development of water transport this year. They intend to discuss it at the State Council in 2027. The document will be based on specific conditions: financing must strictly follow the actual cargo or passengers. Previously, budget money was allocated on the principle of "just give the port/region the funds, and they will somehow work there," now the logic will be reversed. The document will also clearly delineate the powers between the federal center and the regions, and guarantee the reliability of the northern supply.