Фото: пресс-служба Кремля
The construction of a high-speed railway between Moscow and Minsk was among the topics discussed by Russian Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin in a report to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin gave his approval for further work on the project.
“If we are talking about Russian routes, the most efficient one is the Moscow–Nizhny Novgorod section and further on to Kazan. It provides the greatest economic impact and makes the most economic sense. The second most promising project is the international Moscow–Minsk route, with all the other projects following after that.
Therefore, with your permission, I would like to begin preliminary work on these projects. I will submit the corresponding request,” Nikitin said, according to the Kremlin press service.
“Of course,” Putin replied.
“It would be good for us to finalise the financial model in 2028–2029 and begin moving forward,” the minister continued.
“As for the Moscow–Minsk route, Aliaksandr Hryhoravich and I have discussed it repeatedly. The President of Belarus supports it, so there will be no administrative difficulties here,” Putin added.
“Vladimir Vladimirovich, with your permission, we will involve the Eurasian Development Bank in order to begin this work jointly as an international project. We will work on this issue together with Oleg Valentinovich Belozyorov under the supervision of Vitaly Gennadyevich,” Nikitin said.
It should be noted that a high-speed railway between Moscow and St. Petersburg is currently under construction in Russia. It is expected to begin operations in 2028–2029. Only after its completion was the construction of additional routes expected to begin. At the same time, the Minsk direction had previously ranked only fourth among Russian Railways’ planned projects.
Meanwhile, in April this year, it was announced that the transport ministries of Belarus and Russia would establish a working group to examine the legal and technical aspects of implementing the high-speed rail project.