Speaking to Global Rail News at the 1520 International Rail Business Forum, President of Russian Railways (RZD), Vladimir Yakunin outlined the current status of two key projects: high-speed rail and the construction of a Russian gauge line through Slovakia into Vienna. Writes David Shirres
Until recently it had been expected that Russia’s first high-speed rail line would be from Moscow to St Petersburg. However, at a high-speed rail conference in April held by Russian President Vladimir Putin it was decided that the first stage of Russia’s high-speed rail network would be an 803 km line from Moscow to Kazan via Nizhniy Novgorod.
Yakunin acknowledged that this was a political decision to promote the development of these regions. It is also likely that this high-speed line has a stronger business case than the one to St Petersburgh which already has fast Sapsan trains that average 180 km/h, taking 3hrs 40 minutes for the 659 km journey.
Yakunin advises that the cost of this line will be 1.2 trillion roubles (£24 billion) and that the intention was that 70 per cent would be funded by the state with the remaining amount from private investment. With private funding yet to be secured there is as yet no timescale for the line.
Yakunin advised that RZD’s current high-speed rail strategy was to complete the line to Kazan and then build high-speed lines from Moscow to St Petersburg and then Moscow to Alder.
The proposed Russian gauge line from Košice in eastern Slovakia, close to the Ukrainian into Vienna will be about 400 km long. It is being progressed by Breitspur Planungsgesellschaft, a joint venture between the Austrian, Russian, Slovakian and Ukranian railway companies. The intention is to create a 8,000 km rail corridor from the Pacific to Europe without a change of gauge. In Vienna there will be a distribution hub to take traffic further by rail or the river Danube with a small amount distributed by road. A pre-feasibility study has indicated the line to be a potentially attractive investment.
The next stage is a feasibility study which would provide a more accurate prediction of traffic levels, recommend a route and estimate construction costs. Yakunin explains that the contract for this study is expected to be let this year, although he acknowledged that elections in Austria may cause delays.
Speaking to Global Rail News afterwards, members of the joint venture’s management board, Robert Kredig of ÖBB (Austrian Railways) and Mikhail Goncharov of RZD would not commit themselves to a timescale for this feasibility contract, although Goncharov did joke that the line would be built before the British HS2. He estimated the cost of the feasibility contract to be around 20 million euros, which each partner in the venture contributing 25 per cent. He also predicted that as the project developed other railways would wish to join the venture.
RZD sees these projects as examples of the organisation’s vision to promote economic development both internally and as part of a global rail network. They are also expensive, ambitious and as yet have no committed funding. However, Yakunin was clear that there is a business case and political consensus for these projects.
