Think Railways

Russian Railways has announced an open tender for engineering surveys, project development, route demarcation planning and project documentation services for the construction of the Moscow - Kazan section of the Moscow - Kazan - Yekaterinburg High-Speed Railway Line in 2015-2016 (No. 787/OK-TsVSM/15 - № 787/ОК-ЦВСМ/15).

The tender will be held on 16 April 2015, the initial (maximum) contract price for the execution of the work is 20.79 billion roubles excluding VAT.

"The development of high-speed rail is a fundamentally new step in the modernisation of the Russian transport system, one which countries such as Japan, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, China and many others have already taken. International experience confirms that infrastructure development projects greatly stimulate the real economy and the development of small and medium-sized businesses. In announcing this tender, we are confident that both Russian and foreign companies with experience in designing and constructing high-speed railway lines will take part. I am convinced that localising in Russia advanced technologies in the field of railway transport will have a positive impact on the development of the entire economy of the Russian Federation," said Vladimir Yakunin, the President of Russian Railways.

The length of the pilot Moscow - Kazan high-speed line will be 770 km. The line will pass through 7 subjects of Russia with a total population of over 25 million people. The project includes 15 stops, including Moscow, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Cheboksary and Kazan. Travel time from Moscow to Kazan on the high-speed line will be 3.5 hours, while from Nizhny Novgorod to Cheboksary travel time will be 1 hour and to Kazan, 1.5 hours. Annual passenger numbers in the first years of the line's operation are estimated at 10.5 million.

The project involves the deep localisation amounting to at least 80% of advanced production, the creation of more than 370,000 jobs and the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the regions through which the line will pass. The line will also be the largest infrastructure project in Russia today, and its implementation will require a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). Investment in the project will provide large-scale support to Russian industry, especially metallurgy (the production of rails and metal structures), machinery, the construction materials sector and other industries.