Moscow–Saint Petersburg high-speed railway

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Moscow–Saint Petersburg high-speed railway
Overview
Status2028 (planned)
Termini
Stations16
Service
TypeHigh-speed rail
Technical
Line length679 km (422 mi)
Track gauge1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in)
Electrification25 kV 50 Hz AC
3 kV DC

Moscow–Saint Petersburg high-speed railway (Russian ВСМ Москва — Санкт-Петербург), also known as VSM-1 is a high-speed railway line under construction in Russia.[1]

History[edit]

In 2020, Russian Railways reported construction was scheduled to begin in 2021.[2] The journey time was planned to take approximately 2 hours 19 minutes, and the length of the line would be 679 km.[3][4]

In November 2021, reports suggested it was likely for the project to be abandoned favouring possible upgrades to the existing Saint Petersburg-Moscow railway.[5]

On August 2023, president Vladimir Putin announced his support for taking the project forward, as well as making progress towards Nizhny Novgorod, Voronezh and Kazan.[1]

On December 15, 2023, the Russian minister of transport, Vitaly Savelyev, said that they have formed the main parameters of implementation and developed a financial and organizational model.[6]

Construction began on March 2024.[1]

Route[edit]

The line was planned to be 679 km long, and will serve 16 stations (including 4 within Moscow).[7][8]

The line will pass through Tver and Veliky Novgorod.[9]

Operation[edit]

Trains will run in service consistently at 250 km/h, while the line is reported to be designed to handle speeds of 400 km/h.[10][1]

The line is estimated to cut travel time between Moscow and St Petersburg to 2 hours 15 minutes, running at 15-20 headways, later increasing in frequency to 10-15 minutes by 2030.[9]

Rolling stock[edit]

A previous venture to produce high speed trains with Siemens, a company which manufactured the Velaro RUS trains on the Sapsan service, was unsuccessful due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, following which Siemens exited the Russian market and the joint venture.[1][11]

28 trains will be ordered in the first batch, expected to be assembled by Sinara Group with support from Transmashholding.[12]

In April 2024, a 12 billion ruble ($119.6 million) contract was signed with Ural Locomotives (a subsidiary of Sinara Group) to produce 2 pre-series trains. The trains will be 8 cars long, with a design speed of 400 km/h, and a maximum operational speed of 360 km/h.[13] There will be 4 classes of seating and pairs of trains will be able to work in multiple.[14]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Russia begins construction of first high-speed line". International Railway Journal. 2024-03-15. Archived from the original on 2024-03-15.
  2. ^ "Строительство высокоскоростной магистрали «Москва – Санкт-Петербург» начнется в 2021 году". rzd.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  3. ^ "На пути встаёт Великий Новгород". gudok.ru. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  4. ^ "В РЖД хотят проложить ВСМ между Москвой и Петербургом через Великий Новгород" (in Russian). Vedomosti. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  5. ^ "«Коммерсантъ» узнал о возможном отказе от магистрали Москва — Петербург". РБК (in Russian). 2021-11-11. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  6. ^ https://tass.ru/ekonomika/19545735
  7. ^ D'Silva, Krishtina (2024-03-15). "Moscow Commences Construction of Russia's First High-Speed Rail Line". Urban Transport News.
  8. ^ "Путин дал старт началу строительства ВСМ Москва - Петербург" [Putin launched the construction of the Moscow-St. Petersburg high-speed railway]. TASS (in Russian). 2024-03-14. [The high speed railway (HSR) is designed for traffic at speeds above 250 km/h. 679 km total length. 10-15 min train interval. 28 trains first batch.]
  9. ^ a b "Putin to give start to building Moscow-St. Pete high-speed railway — Kremlin". TASS. 2024-03-14.
  10. ^ Keller, Mitchell (2024-03-15). "Putin greenlights construction for Moscow-St. Petersburg high-speed rail". Construction Briefing.
  11. ^ "Siemens and Russian Railways to develop new high-speed train". RailTech.com. 2021-11-09. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  12. ^ Sergey, Belov (2024-02-14). "Russia to purchase high-speed trains worth $1.6 bln". ROLLINGSTOCK.
  13. ^ Smith, Kevin (2024-04-18). "Russian Railways orders prototype high-speed trains". International Railway Journal.
  14. ^ "RZD orders high speed trains for revived Moscow – St Petersburg project". Railway Gazette International. 2024-04-18.
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