Project of high-speed railroad connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg approved

The master plan of a high-speed railroad connecting Russia’s two largest cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, has been agreed upon, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said after a meeting chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azernews reports, citing TASS.

"The high-speed railroad will be built. The master plan has been agreed upon. Details of the future document will be adjusted in the process," the spokesman said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a special meeting on the issue on Thursday. In his words, the country needs to build high-speed rail communication lines to boost the transport capacity of its railways, reduce airport traffic and spur domestic tourism.

Currently, Russia has no railways designed specifically for high-speed trains, travelling faster than 250 kmph. The project has been on the table since late 1960s. In 1992, a joint-stock company was set up to build a high-speed railroad between Moscow and St. Petersburg, which planned to complete it in 2000. However, all decisions made in accordance with the project were de-facto cancelled in 1998.