Russia Starts Work On Europe’s Fastest And Largest Railway Network

Russia’s Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, has announced plans for a massive high-speed rail (HSR) network. It is set to be the largest in Europe, spanning more than 4,500 km, and will use domestically built trains capable of reaching 400 kilometers per hour (kph).

Mishustin said the new line will cut travel time between Moscow and St. Petersburg from four hours to just over two. The network will also connect Moscow with Minsk in Belarus, Adler on the Black Sea, Ekaterinburg in the Urals, Ryazan, and other cities. He said that “Travel between cities should be not only safe and comfortable but also not too time-consuming. In the modern world, time is becoming increasingly valuable. Because of that, we are mastering technologies for faster travel and are working on a development scheme for high-speed rail infrastructure.”

He noted that the project has been approved by President Vladimir Putin and will be finalized within the next six months.

Mishustin said construction of the first HSR line between Moscow and St. Petersburg is already underway. The 679 km route will be the first to feature the new generation of high-speed trains.

While he gave no details about the train’s specifications, media reports suggest that the name could be chosen in a public vote, with options including ‘Luch’ (Russian for ‘Ray of Light’). The current line between the two cities, the fastest in Russia, operates Siemens Velaro Sapsan trains with a top speed of 250 kph. Due to European sanctions, Russia will not be using any European equipment and is developing its own capabilities.

Once completed, Russia’s HSR network will be more extensive than Spain’s 3,970 km system, which is currently the largest in Europe and second worldwide after China. The new Russian trains will also outpace Europe’s fastest, the French TGV, which runs at up to 320 kph and covers the London-Paris route in three hours.

China remains the global HSR leader, with more than 64,000 km of lines in operation. It also has the world’s fastest commercially viable HSR train, the CR400 Fuxing Hao, which can reach 350 kph.