OREANDA-NEWS. April 01, 2014. The creation of an integrated network of high-speed railway lines in the Russian Federation has been discussed at a round table organised by the Commission of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs on Transport and Transport Infrastructure.

The event was held at Russian Business Week 2014 and attended by Alexander Misharin, First Vice-President of Russian Railways, Alexander Shokhin, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), members of the RSPP Board and representatives from Russia's Federal Assembly, executive bodies and major business organisations.

Alexander Shokhin expressed the hope that the phase of convincing society and experts about the feasibility of high-speed railway lines was coming to an end and that the next stage in the life of the projects would be their practical implementation.

The participants in the roundtable noted that the pilot project for a high-speed line between Moscow and Kazan was in a high degree of readiness and that its implementation was highly important for the development of the real sector of the Russian economy.

"A feasibility study has been developed, Glavgosekspertiza of Russia has issued a positive conclusion, an independent expert has conducted an audit and the tender documents have been prepared for the execution of the engineering research and development for the project documentation which is necessary for the construction of the Moscow - Kazan high-speed line", noted Alexander Misharin in his address to the roundtable.

According to Misharin, an organisational and legal scheme with the use of concessions as one of the most effective mechanisms for Public Private Partnerships had been selected for the project.
A financial model for the project has also been developed and an investment memorandum and preliminary investment declaration prepared. All these documents have been submitted to the state authorities.

At the moment, the main task is organising the engineering research and design documentation for the project.

"The issue of developing high-speed rail traffic in Russia is a matter of survival for many industrial enterprises and a very significant part of scientific institutions. The fact is that high-speed lines - not from a consumer standpoint, but from the standpoint of those who will be involved in the projects - are primarily knowledge-intensive projects which will use a lot of materials and provide employment to hundreds of Russian companies," said Vladimir Kosoi, Vice-President of the foundation Centre for Strategic Research.

Alexander Abramov, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Evrazgrupp SA, and Sergei Naryshkin, head of work with natural monopolies at Severstal, noted the importance of the project for the development of productive capacities at Russian metallurgical companies. They also reaffirmed the readiness of steel companies to provide a new generation of high-speed rails with increased linearity and precision manufacturing, as well as wheels, rail fasteners and other products to be produced in Russia and which were not inferior to their global peers, and sometimes even exceeding them.

According to the estimates presented, the multiplier effect during the operational phase of the high-speed line will generate a budgetary effect in the form of additional tax revenues to the budgets at all levels for the period 2019-2030 totalling 2.3 trillion roubles, which is more than twice as much as the total cost of the project.

In the first years of the line's operation, there will also be substantial growth in the gross regional product (GRP). By 2025, GRP growth will be 38% in the Vladimir region and 39% in Nizhny Novgorod region, rising to 58% and 76%, respectively, by 2030.

All calculations on the economic effects of the project have been confirmed by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.