Kazan is one of the largest cities in Russia and the most significant industrial centers of the country. Therefore, the urgent issue is the modernization of transport links between this settlement and the capital of our Motherland - Moscow. This is due to the increased intensity of passenger and cargo transportation in this direction. The Moscow-Kazan high-speed railway, the construction of which is planned in the near future, is designed to significantly solve this problem.
Transport Issues
Currently, the capitals of Russia and Tatarstan are connected by the federal highway M7 "Volga" Moscow - Kazan. You can drive it from one end to the other by car, having spent a good half of the day. The highway path passes through the cities of Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod. This route is an integral part of the Moscow-Ufa highway. At the same time, it is part of the European road E22.
At its entire distance, the Moscow-Kazan highway (km 820) has a fairly high-quality hard surface. At the same time, due to traffic congestion, it often has to be repaired.
In addition, the city is connected by the Moscow-Kazan railway, which dates back to 1897. In 1960, it was electrified.
Currently, the existing transport arteries between Moscow and Kazan fulfill the tasks assigned to them only partially. Due to the high traffic density on them, and also due to their technical characteristics, they cannot provide high-speed communication between these two large cities.
Solutions
The real solution to the problem of overcoming the high time costs on the way between the two cities could only be the highway Moscow - Kazan. There were two ways to implement this idea: the construction of a motorway or a modern railway line. The latter option was preferable, as it would make it possible to get from the initial to the final point in a shorter period of time.
So the society gradually approached the idea of creating the Moscow-Kazan High-Speed Railway.
Project idea
Until now, there is not a single high-speed railway in the Russian Federation. For the first time, Alexander Sergeyevich Misharin spoke about creating such a project. In 2009, he proposed laying a similar railway line between Moscow and Yekaterinburg. This area of activity was not a novelty for him, as he previously held the post of Deputy Minister of Railways.
In 2010, Alexander Sergeyevich formalized his proposal into a specific project. The idea of Misharin was supported by the government of Tatarstan. But at this stage the dialogue was held only at the regional level, since the federal authorities had nothing to do with it at that time.
Idea development at the federal level
At the federal level, the idea of building the first high-speed railway in Russia was expressed in 2013 by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He stated this in Sochi. It was announced that the immediate plans for the construction of such a grandiose project as a high-speed highway Moscow - Kazan. At the same time, Vladimir Vladimirovich said that in the future it is possible to consider the option of extending the road to Ulyanovsk and Yekaterinburg.
The direct implementation of the project was placed on the shoulders of the previously mentioned Alexander Misharin, who by that time had become the first vice president of Russian Railways. At the end of 2013, he was appointed General Director of the Russian Railways subsidiary High-Speed Railways OJSC, created specifically for the construction of the road.
The construction period of the Moscow-Kazan high-speed rail was scheduled for 2014 - 2018. That is, the work should have been fully completed for the upcoming world soccer championship in Russia.
Planned track route
The Moscow-Kazan high-speed highway will pass through the largest cities of the Upper Volga region. At the same time, it is still planned to lay it away from significant clusters of settlements, so that this factor does not reduce the speed characteristics of the highway. For the same purpose, the Moscow - Kazan railway will go along the most direct route.
The highway will take its start in Moscow, then it will go down 180 km to Vladimir, after 247 km it will go to Nizhny Novgorod, from which 240 km will go to Cheboksary. The road to Kazan will complete its journey, to which another 136 km will stretch.
Thus, the high-speed highway Moscow - Kazan will appear before us with a total length of 803 kilometers.
Comparison of the new track with the existing railway
Now let's find out how much from Moscow to Kazan is the path along the existing railway. Its length is 1170 km. Thus, as a result of the project, the distance between cities will be reduced by as much as 367 kilometers.
The gain in time will be much greater. If the old railway had to go 14 hours 7 minutes, the new highway Moscow - Kazan will allow this to be done in just three and a half hours. That is, the time savings will exceed 3.5 times.
Financial aspects
The initial cost of the project to build a route to Yekaterinburg was estimated at 2.5 trillion rubles. Then, when it was decided at the first stage of construction to bring the road only to Kazan, the total cost of the construction was significantly reduced. At the moment, the preliminary cost of the project, announced at the beginning of 2014, is 949 billion rubles. However, the designers understand that this is a very conditional amount. Taking into account inflation, it can be significantly adjusted, and by the time construction is completed, it can significantly exceed one trillion rubles.
The main share of the costs incurred by government agencies. In particular, the federal budget, the Pension Fund, the National Welfare Fund. However, it is also planned to attract money from private investors and commercial enterprises to a large extent for the implementation of the project. This form of cooperation is called public-private partnership. Loans from banks and other financial institutions will also be one of the sources of financing.
Initially, it was also planned to attract foreign investors. However, European companies were forced to refuse cooperation because of EU sanctions against Russia. Negotiations are underway with China to participate in financing.
Project implementation
At the moment, the Moscow-Kazan expressway is only at the design stage. They have not yet begun the immediate implementation of works on its construction. But this is the prospect of the near future.
Design work is carried out directly by the technical bureau of High-Speed Railways OJSC, and the scientific and technical council of Russian Railways approves.
Currently, the terms of the project are significantly shifted. So, it was originally supposed to begin construction in 2015, and in 2016 already launch the first branch Nizhny Novgorod - Cheboksary, completing the construction of the road in 2018. But at the moment, some members of the Russian government and people directly involved in the implementation of the project say that construction work is likely to begin only in 2017, and the fully high-speed Moscow-Kazan highway will be commissioned by 2020.
Project criticism
A number of economic experts, including members of the government of the Russian Federation, are very doubtful about the final payback of the project. They say that the costs are too high, and the total passenger flow will not even reach the level indicated in the plans. In particular, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that the construction of the Moscow-Kazan highway was premature.
At the same time, many public figures do not deny the national importance of the project, which helps to increase the level of comfort of movement between the capitals of Russia and Tatarstan.
There are also doubts that, due to Western sanctions and the onset of crisis processes in the country's economy, it will be possible to find all the required financial resources for the implementation of construction. In this regard, the prospects for the introduction of the Moscow-Kazan highway into operation even by 2020 look very problematic.
In addition, there are supporters of the construction of a new highway between the two cities. Their main argument is the high intensity of cargo transportation in the direction Moscow - Kazan. By car, it is possible to transport not only people, but also goods, and the planned railway line is more specifically designed for passenger transportation.
Prospects
The main tasks that the Moscow-Kazan expressway is designed to solve are reducing the intensity of vehicles on existing transport routes between these cities, increasing the level of comfort for passengers and reducing the time spent on the road.
It is planned that the wagons of trains moving in this direction will be divided into four classes: economy, first class, business class and premium. According to preliminary calculations, the price of a ticket in economy class from Moscow to Kazan will be 2,300 rubles.
If the project for the construction of the highway is successful, it is planned to extend it to Ulyanovsk and Yekaterinburg. In addition, Chinese investors expressed interest in laying the route all the way to Beijing. The Russian government and the Celestial Empire have already signed a joint memorandum on plans for such a grandiose construction.
But this is the prospect of a much more distant future. At the moment, the successful implementation of the project for the construction of a high-speed railway between Moscow and Kazan is on the agenda.