OREANDA-NEWS. December 22, 2014. The Development Strategy of Railway Transport in the Russian Federation until 2030 has been updated by Russia's Ministry of Transport to fully reflect the need to develop Russia's rail infrastructure, which, as the president of Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin noted at an expanded meeting of the Ministry in Moscow, is one of the basic conditions for the growth of the domestic economy.

According to Yakunin, the draft document takes into account long-term projects such as the development of the Baikal-Amur and Trans-Siberian main lines, ensures the approaches to and the infrastructure of the Crimean Federal District and provides for the construction of a bypass around Ukraine and the development of the Moscow transport hub.

It also provides for the construction of the new railway lines required for shipping goods from Russia's mining areas and which are of interest to potential investors. Adequately reflected in the document is in addition the development of high-speed lines, which are already experiencing high demand.

That the right approach to infrastructure development has been chosen in the updated Strategy is clearly demonstrated by the experience of foreign colleagues, said the President of Russian Railways.

Thus, between 2003-2012, 12,800 kilometres of new railway lines laid in the European Union, and this growth is set to continue. The length of high-speed lines alone in Europe will increase by a factor of three, to 21,000 km, by 2020. During the last 10 years, Japan has increased the length of its national railway network by 1,500 km and India by 1,400 km. Brazil has adopted a strategic plan to build 12,000 km of new railway lines by 2025, and about 3,000 km are already under construction.

"The approach to infrastructure development as an economic engine has conquered the mentality of our neighbors in Europe. We argue, quite rightly, that investing money in infrastructure does not lead to galloping inflation, but rather facilitates and promotes our country's socio-economic development," said Yakunin.