OREANDA-NEWS. May 28, 2014. The construction project for a high-speed railway line between Moscow – Vladimir – Nizhny Novgorod – Kazan was presented to participants at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

The line is designed for trains travelling at up to 400 kph.

The event was attended by Alexander Misharin, First Vice-President of Russian Railways, Svetlana Orlova, Governor of Vladimir region, Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Valery Shantsev, Governor of Nizhny Novgorod and representatives from international and Russian railways, auditing and construction companies.

During the presentation, the results of the technical audit and price feasibility study for the construction of the first domestic high-speed rail were presented. As Alexander Misharin noted in his address, Russian and international auditors confirmed the stated cost of constructing the Moscow - Kazan line at 1.06 trillion roubles, of which the state will invest about 380 billion roubles.

Oliver Pitz, CEO of DB International GmbH, presented the results of the project's technical audit and confirmed its compliance with international standards. Olga Arkhangelsk, a Partner at EY, spoke about the work done in preparing the project: a comparison of the project with its international counterparts was presented which showed the structure of the construction costs by region.

During the project presentation, regional leaders put forward an initiative to establish an Association of Mayors and Governors of Regions Linked by the Moscow –Kazan – Yekaterinburg High-Speed Line and Moscow – Rostov- on-Don – Adler High-Speed Line.

In addition to mayors and governors of regions in the high-speed rail network, the Association will also include state and federal politicians and public figures, as well as transport industry professionals.

The aim of the Association will be to collaborate on promoting the advancement and implementation of high-speed line projects in the Russian Federation.

During the presentation, it was announced that the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, the head of the Chuvash Republic and the governors of Nizhny Novgorod and Vladimir regions had made a written appeal to President Vladimir Putin asking him to support the project to build a high-speed rail line between Moscow – Kazan.

"Improving transport accessibility will strengthen ties between Russia's largest cities. The construction of this line is supported by more than 80% of the population living in our regions," said the regional leaders in their letter.