High speed trains in China. against the backdrop of the degradation of Russia

China is gradually becoming the world's leading railway power. It covers with a dense network of high-speed roads not only its territory, but also neighboring countries. In this review, we will talk about phenomenon of Chinese railways, as well as about prospects his influence on Russia China is already announcing plans to build a $242 billion Beijing-Moscow highway.

In fact, the news about China's multibillion-dollar investment in the development of the Beijing-Moscow railway route is surprising only to those who do not know about the real current situation affairs in the transport infrastructure of China. The fact is that over the past two decades, this country has been investing heavily in the creation of new roads, bridges, interchanges, overpasses, tunnels and other facilities, including those necessary for railway needs. Moreover, it is rail transport that China focuses on in its infrastructure development, because only it allows you to quickly, efficiently and relatively inexpensively connect different regions of a huge state in terms of area and population.

Railways of China

Statistics say that more than 2,000 kilometers of high-speed rail lines have been built annually in China in recent years, which are used by brand new Chinese trains capable of accelerating up to 500 kilometers per hour. However, the real average speed of movement on the railways of China is still three times less.

Due to this rapid development of the railway network, the convenience and speed of travel, as well as the relatively low cost of travel with a dynamic pricing policy, trains have become the main passenger mode of transport in China.

The development of the railway network also has a positive effect on the growth of the already powerful economy of the country. After all, it is freight, and not passenger, transportation that is the main income of the railways of any state, as well as the main logistics of goods and resources.

Understanding the great importance of railways, having achieved notable success in their construction and operation on the territory of their country, the Chinese authorities several years ago decided to begin railway expansion to other states. The first and, at the moment, the main direction of this activity was Southeast Asia.

China and Southeast Asia

In 2011, China's Ministry of Railways announced the launch of the Asian Railway program, which will unite the railway infrastructure of Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar and Singapore into a single network. The Celestial Empire intends to buy out the lines located in these countries in order to reconstruct them later, as well as create many new routes. In total, this promising network will consist of approximately 40,000 kilometers of new railway lines.

At the same time, the Asian Railway will unite precisely those countries that have been the world's largest producers of consumer goods for the past ten years. And China, through the railway infrastructure, gains control over the production and logistics processes in these states.

But China's transport interests are not limited to Southeast Asia either. This country is working on ideas of a much wider infrastructural expansion to the West and East.

China and America

One of the last promising projects railway construction in China is the idea of building a transcontinental high-speed railway from Beijing to Los Angeles.

It may sound like a joke, but China is actually seriously considering connecting Asia and China with a railway for the foreseeable future. North America. The 13,000-kilometer line will start in Beijing, pass through Vladivostok, the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, dive into a 200-kilometer tunnel under the Bering Strait, then again pass by land through the whole of Alaska, the western coast of Canada with Vancouver, and then through the United States of America to Los Angeles. In the future, it could be extended east to New York and south to South America.

High-speed Chinese trains will be able to cover the distance between Beijing and Los Angeles in just 24 hours. This is quite a lot for passenger transportation, but it is unimaginably fast for transporting goods, namely, this road will mainly be used as a freight road.

China and Europe

The Chinese authorities are also looking to the West. On November 18, 2014, a freight train consisting of three dozen wagons with Chinese goods left the city of Yiwu in eastern China. Twenty-one days later, he arrived at the end point of his route, Madrid, having overcome 13 thousand kilometers and eight countries along the way: China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, France and, in fact, Spain.

Chinese authorities have said that similar freight trains will travel on this route on a regular basis. People are already calling this record long road"New Silk Road" or "Silk Road of the 21st century".

However, in the previous two paragraphs, we are talking exclusively about freight traffic between China and Western countries. But the Celestial Empire is also hatching plans to create high-speed passenger lines that will connect it with Europe. A few years ago, the Chinese authorities announced that they intended to create a new "Orient Express" in the future, which will connect Beijing and London. This will be the main train of the world, which will finally turn Eurasia, stretching for 15 thousand kilometers from west to east, into a single continent.

China and Russia

But the route to London is a matter for the future. In the meantime, China plans to gain a foothold on its immediate frontiers. This is evidenced by the desire of Beijing to build a high-speed railway line to Moscow.

It is expected that the total length of the road will be about 7 thousand kilometers. It will start in Beijing, pass through northwest China, Kazakhstan and European part Russia to Moscow. Trains will cover this route in just 2 days, while the current trains overcome it in more than 7 days.

When announcing its plans to build a railway to Moscow, China is actually making a statement that it considers Russia one of its main partners, that it believes in further development economy of this state, as well as political and economic ties between the Russian Federation and China.

Outcome

Based on the above facts, we can conclude that China is turning into the world's largest operator of passenger and freight rail transportation. This country, receiving huge profits, invests them in infrastructure projects around the world. This is a great example for other states, including Russia.

Holding Olympic Games in China in 2007 gave impetus to the development of bullet train traffic in the country. a railway line was opened for high-speed trains at a speed of 330 km per hour.

The line connected the capital Beijing and the port Tiadzhin. And this is not the limit! Benjin and Shanghai are connected by a 350 km/h high-speed train line. To create a high-speed movement, the technologies of the Japanese company Kawasaki were used. Recently, there has been a tendency to use Chinese technology in this direction. Chinese companies sell their trains to North and South America. For comparison: high-speed trains in Europe can reach speeds of up to 270 km per hour, a Japanese bullet train travels at a speed of 234 km per hour.

In 2010, China's high-speed train set a new speed record of 486.1 kilometers per hour, surpassing the previous record by almost 70 kilometers per hour, Chinese media reported on Friday.

The record was set during a test pass of the CRH380A series train on the section between the cities of Zaozhuang and Bengpu on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway.

The new record greatly surpasses the previous record of 416.6 kilometers per hour, which the Chinese-made train reached at the end of September this year.

Chinese specialists have begun to design a train that will reach speeds of over 500 kilometers per hour.

Speed records are set only as part of research tests. At the same time, according to the Ministry of Railways of China, at present, China has 337 trains capable of reaching speeds of up to 380 kilometers per hour, which are used to transport passengers.

China has 7.55 thousand kilometers of high-speed railways. More than 10,000 kilometers of high-speed railway track are under construction.

In 2011, China opened another high-speed rail line. This time between Wuhan and Guangzhou. It was built in just four years and now it is the longest high-speed railway line in the world - 1068 km.
Trains on it develop a speed of 350 km / h. So you can get from Wuhan to Guangzhou not in ten hours, as usual, but in just 2 hours and 58 minutes. The fare is from 70 to 114 dollars one way. In 2012, about 13,000 km of high-speed railways (200-350 km/h) will be in operation in China.

By 2012, China will have 42 high-speed rail lines, further boosting the economy. The distance that used to take ten hours to cover now is only three. This is a great alternative to traffic jams and planes with pre-registration required. Inside the train is not divided into wagons and represent a single space. Shaking, vibration, shocks when moving are absent. The trains are equipped with soft anatomical chairs, TVs, vending machines with drinks. Hot lunches are also provided, served by well-trained stewards. The cost of meals is included in the ticket.

What does it look like? To a giant airport? To the spaceport? A scene from a movie about the future? No, guys, this is the Chinese station. Giant building. Futuristic architecture. Elevators, escalators, dozens and hundreds of information boards, marble floors polished to a mirror shine, live palm trees, comfortable temperature, perfect cleanliness. There are several thousand people here at the same time. But they are all so evenly distributed in a common gigantic space that there is no feeling of a crowd, which is characteristic of stations.

There are restaurants, and McDonald's, and Starbucks, and branded stores. There are also recreation areas and playgrounds for children. At the box office for buying tickets there is a special window for foreigners. An adult and serious Chinese woman in glasses sells tickets to the "laowai" as if they are her students, and she is an English teacher.

Regular trains do not come to this station. There are high speed trains. The fact is that now China is rebuilding a giant web of high-speed railways throughout the country. This web is already linking dozens of strategic millionaires. And in the next few years, it will cover itself in literally the whole country.

Which trains are a great alternative to two modes of transport at once. First, cars. Previously, to get from one city to another, you had to take a car, stand in city traffic for a long time, take the freeway, pay for the road (roads in China are paid), refuel and drive at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour in the vicinity of crazy Chinese drivers trucks. Now on a high-speed train, this can be done three times faster and three times cheaper. At the same time, you will spend time in comfortable conditions and don't get tired of driving.

And secondly, it is an alternative to aircraft. Because now, from almost any major city to another major city, you can not only fly by plane, but also get there by such a high-speed train. This is often much more convenient. And always cheaper. And it works.

At the station, all passengers are waiting for their train in the common waiting room. And only when the high-speed train is served on the platform and it opens its sealed doors, passengers are invited to board. The landing system here is the same as at airports. That is why the platforms themselves are always deserted and spotlessly clean.

AP Photo/Xinhua, Cheng Min // Wuhan depot and some of the fastest trains in the world.

Buying tickets, finding the right exit to the platform, the way from the waiting room to the train - all this is organized in such a logical and predictable way that anyone can figure it out. Even laowai. And even "laowai", who flew to China for the first time and just now.

Trains arrive on time. And they leave on time. This is a system. Clear and thoughtful matrix.

After the train has been served, passengers through automatic gates enter one of the platforms, of which there are several dozen. And almost immediately find themselves inside the train.

AP Photo // The driver in the cab of the CRH3 train.

Inside the train is a single space. Without partitions and divided wagons. You can walk from the end of the train to the beginning without opening or closing a single door. Soft, comfortable chairs, information boards (where the names of stops, time and speed are displayed), LCD TVs, laptop sockets, coolers with hot and cold water ...

These trains are served by specially sharpened conductors. Cute but strict Chinese women in blue uniforms. It is to them that you can ask your naive question and get a completely serious answer to it. They don't flirt at work...

Pay attention to this young man in a red vest. This is a railroad employee. He delivers meals. Rice with meat. Chicken with meat. And sweet donuts.

Despite the fact that these trains run really fast, the speed inside them is not felt at all. They are very stable. There is no shaking or vibration. And you can understand how fast the train is moving only when an oncoming train is rushing past the window. Oncoming trains over two hundred meters long pass by in less than two seconds. At the same time, the aerowave from them hits the windows with such force that every time you involuntarily shudder. Feelings are pretty cool. The first few times I didn't understand what it was. And only then I guessed: “Uff, these are oncoming trains!”

The new generation of trains in China is not “to be” and not “but we also have it”, and not “blablabla”. This is a thoughtful, convenient and popular project on a federal scale. Focused not on the capital's elite, but on the people. (By the way, like many things in China).

Despite all its futurism and grandiosity, the prices here are not at all high. And a businessman from Shanghai in a suit and tie, and a rice farmer who returns from the capital to his village can easily sit in the neighboring seats. At the same time, they will definitely talk loudly, discuss the weather, politics, the Dow Jones index, agricultural fertilizers and a bunch of other things ...

China needs to move. Move quickly, conveniently and affordable. The speed of movement around the country is very important in order for the economy and business to continue to develop as insanely fast. Everyone is interested in this. And the state that "creates the conditions." And "the people and business", which uses these conditions. And I generally understand why such high-speed railways built here and not elsewhere.

circuit diagram railway and high-speed railway in East China area

Schematic diagram of China's expressways (built, under construction and planned for construction)

Here's what the blogger says imajarov about your trip on this train.

Traffic on the Shanghai-Hangzhou Expressway. Travel time - 45 minutes.
Tickets cost 82 yuan - second class, 131 yuan - first class. There is also a compartment (fenced-off corral for 6 people in a 1st class carriage) - 240 yuan per person.

The first feeling is quite impressive: the train first slowly departs from the station and lazily, at a speed of 120-130 km per hour, "weaves" along the sidings. Then it enters a high-speed overpass, in 10-20 seconds it rapidly accelerates to 220-250 km. And further acceleration to 350 km/h is palpably breathtaking. The houses, cars and pashenkos flying below evoke the thought of the frailty of all things. And for some reason, he immediately begins to think that it is probably right that there are no seat belts in such trains: if something does not help. Especially when the flyover reaches 20 meters in height - there are complete associations of a low-level helicopter flight (I flew somehow on the "Hooligan" Ka-26 along the coast).

AP Photo/Xinhua, Cheng Min // Station in Wuhan, central China.

REUTERS/Stringer // Max Speed trains 350 km/h.

On April 3, 2007, the French TGV POS train set a new train speed record of 574.8 km/h. It is still valid today. When considering the issue of speed records on the railway, it should be borne in mind that decisive role it is not the locomotive that plays here, but the track facilities. Consider how it has developed in different countries.

1. Japan

The Japanese were the first to solve the problem of modernizing their railways. It happened in the late 50s of the last century. It was a necessary event on the eve of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Because Japanese roads were archaic. The track gauge was only 1067 mm, the tracks were worn out, the fleet of locomotives was obsolete.

In a record short time, in 5.5 years, the Japanese built a broad-gauge 552-kilometer Shinkansen line that connected Tokyo and Osaka. Here, for the first time in the world, technologies of jointless laying of rails were used: they are soldered into kilometer-long strips and in this form are delivered on a platform to the place of laying. The geometry of the joints of these lashes is such that temperature changes do not lead to the formation of gaps between them.

Naturally, there are no crossings on the line, for which more than a hundred bridges and tunnels had to be built. A fundamentally new type of train was used on the Shinkansen, which, with the light hand of journalists, was nicknamed the "bullet train". There is no locomotive in the pool train: the engine is installed on each wheel axle, which allows a significant increase in power.

In 1964, trains ran between Tokyo and Osaka at 210 km/h. Now the Nozomi N-700 electric train flies 552 km in 2 hours and 25 minutes, reaching a speed of up to 300 km/h. At the moment, Shinkansen, which links all major cities in Japan, is the most popular mode of transport. For 50 years of operation, the Shinkansen trains, going in the morning and evening hours with an interval of six minutes, transported almost 7 billion passengers.

2. France

Europe responded to the Japanese railway breakthrough with a significant delay. This is partly due to the fact that European designers in the 1950s and 60s experimented with great enthusiasm with a train on air cushion and with maglev - this is the name of a maglev train.

The decision to create a high-speed line similar to the Japanese one was made in France in the second half of the 1960s. It took the National Railway Society of France fifteen years to develop and launch the Paris-Lyon line, which was named TGV (train a` grande vitesse - high-speed train). The creation of the track was, although an expensive undertaking, but it did not cause any special problems for the engineers. It was more difficult to design the train itself. And then the world economic situation unexpectedly intervened in the plans of the designers. The fact is that at the first stage it was decided to use a gas turbine plant as a locomotive engine. In 1971, the TGV-001 turbo train was successfully tested, showing excellent performance. He reached a speed of 318 km / h, which still remains the world record for trains without electric traction. However, the energy crisis that occurred in 1973 forced the SNCF leadership to abandon the use of fuel that had risen sharply in TGVs. There was a reorientation to the use of less expensive electricity produced at French nuclear power plants.

In the end, by the year 80, the Paris-Lyon line was also ready. The electric locomotive and wagons were manufactured by Alstom. On September 27, 1981, the line was put into operation. The train covered the distance between two French cities in 2 hours, moving at a speed of 260 km/h. Now the speed on the TGV lines covering Europe reaches 350 km/h. As for the average speed, it is 263.3 km/h. At the same time, the rolling stock is constantly being modernized, new models are being created. On April 3, 2007, a new shortened TGV POS train reached a speed of 574.8 km/h on the new 106 km LGV EST line connecting Paris with Lorraine. This is an absolute record on the railroad. In this case, the braking distance was 32 km.

Trains of the TGV POS type, plying in France, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg, resemble Russian electric trains. They have two head motor cars, between which there are eight intermediate trailers. Number of seats - 377.

High-speed routes are subject to special requirements in addition to the seamless connection of rails. The turning radius is at least 4000 m. The center distances of adjacent tracks are at least 4.5 m, which reduces the aerodynamic effect when two oncoming trains pass, the relative speed of which can reach 700 km/h. The tunnels through which the route passes are specially designed to minimize aerodynamic impact when entering and exiting the tunnel. A special signaling system is used on the driver's dashboard and automatic braking is provided in case the driver's reaction is not fast enough. The paths are securely fenced to prevent collisions with animals. In order for the pantograph not to catch up with the wave running from it along the contact wire, the wire has a greater tension than on conventional lines. There is a speed limit on TGV lines, but not from above, but from below. This is required so that the slug does not reduce throughput speed lines.

3. USA

Oddly enough, there are no truly high-speed lines in the USA. Despite the fact that the trains on the Washington-Baltimore-Philadelphia-New York-Boston route are manufactured by the French company Alstom. The maximum speed of trains in regular passenger traffic is 241 km/h. Route speed is lower: when traveling from end to end along the entire 735 km route, it is 110 km/h. This is explained by the fact that high-speed French trains are forced to “travel” along the old track.

True, since 2013, the construction of a classic high-speed line between Los Angeles and San Francisco has begun. It is scheduled to be operational in 2020, and TGV POS will be able to demonstrate everything they can on it.

4. Germany

Intercity-Express is a network of high-speed trains, mainly distributed in Germany, developed by Deutsche Bahn. The current generation of Intercity-Express trains, ICE 3, was developed by a consortium of Siemens AG and Bombardier under the overall direction of Siemens AG. The maximum speed of ICE trains on specially built sections of the railway network is 320 km/h. On standard sections of the network, ICE speeds average 160 km/h. The length of the sections on which ICE can reach speeds of more than 230 km / h is 1200 km.
ICE is the main type of long-distance train provided by the German Railways (Deutsche Bahn). They provide both maximum speed and maximum travel comfort. ICE became the basis for the development by Siemens AG of its family of high-speed trains under the common trademark Siemens Velaro. Velaro projects have been implemented, in particular, in Spain and China. These trains are also delivered to Russia for use on high-speed lines Moscow - St. Petersburg and Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod.

5. Russia

The Moscow-Petersburg route, along which the Sapsan train moves, should be recognized as a conditionally high-speed one, since for the most part it is a slightly modernized legacy of the Soviet track facilities. In this connection, a train manufactured by the German company Siemens, capable of reaching speeds of up to 350 km / h, only pulls 250 km / h in one section. The average speed is 140 km/h.

By 2017, it is planned to make the track completely high-speed. And then the movement between the two capitals will be reduced from 4 hours to 2.

However, Russian Railways still set a record on this line. The amount of the contract for the purchase and operation of 8 trains exceeded 600 million euros. Purchase of the same number of fighters fourth generation would have been cheaper. Enough expensive pleasure, allowing "Petersburg" to visit their native land for the weekend.

6. China

China has the world's largest high-speed and high-speed rail network, exceeding those of Japan and Europe combined. average speed traffic here is 200 km/h or higher.
China's express and high-speed roads include: upgraded conventional rail lines, new lines built specifically for high-speed trains, and the world's first commercial maglev lines.
As of December 2013, the total length of such roads in the PRC was over 14,400 km, including 7,268 km sections with a maximum train speed of 350 km/h.
China is currently experiencing a boom in high-speed rail construction. With government support and special incentive measures, the total length of the high-speed rail network is expected to reach 18,000 km by the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan in 2015.
In technological terms, the organization of high-speed rail communication occurs through technology transfer agreements from proven foreign manufacturers such as Bombardier, Alstom, and Kawasaki. By adopting foreign technologies, China seeks to make its own developments based on them. An example is the development of the CRH-380A series trains, which set a record for high speed roads China, about 500 km/h, made in China and developing speeds over 350 km/h and since 2010 in operation. It is also reported that new train Beijing-Shanghai will be developed by the Chinese company Shagun Rail Wheels and launched by 2012.

7. Eastern maglev

Maglev trains can conditionally be attributed to railway transport, although they hover above the canvas at a distance of 1.5 centimeters. In this class of express trains, the speed record is 581 km/h. It was installed in 2003 by the Japan Railway Technical Research Institute Maglev MLX01 at the test site. Until now, it is not known about the timing of the introduction of the Japanese maglev into commercial operation. However, the trains are already flying stably and without accidents, and residents of the surrounding towns and villages are already riding them on holidays.

Since 2002, a Chinese 30-kilometer high-speed line has been operating connecting Shanghai with Padong Airport. This road uses a monorail, over which, after acceleration, the train hovers at a distance of 1.5 cm. The speed of the Shanghai maglev, built by the German company Transrapid (a subsidiary of Siemens AG and ThyssenKrupp), is 450 km/h.

In the foreseeable future, the Shanghai line will be extended to the city of Hangzhou, and its length will be 175 km.

Very soon, the Moscow-Beijing high-speed railway will connect the two states, China and Russia. The preliminary cost of the project is equal to 1.5 trillion yuan, or $242 billion. The total length of the road will be equal to 7 thousand kilometers. Travel time from one point to another will be 2 days, and the road itself will be laid through the territory of Kazakhstan.

Minimum travel time

Today, China is actively offering its innovative technologies in the field of railway construction international level. One of these projects should be the Moscow-Beijing high-speed railway. The news spread around the world very quickly, especially given the chilled relations between America, Europe and Russia, combined with the conflict in eastern Ukraine and Russia's attempts to recover from the stunning collapse of the international oil market. In October 2014, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the China Railway Construction Corporation and the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, Russian Railways and the PRC State Committee for Development and Reform in the field of high-speed rail. The main purpose of the document was the development of a project for a Eurasian high-speed transport corridor, the structure of which will include the Moscow-Kazan highway.

The history of the idea

High-speed iron at the level of the idea has already existed for quite some time. long time. The project should be a great alternative for those who do not have the desire to travel by air. The transfer of the idea to the level of the project being implemented occurred against the backdrop of the activation of purchases in America, the delivery of which is guaranteed by specialists as soon as possible. The high-speed rail project should provide countries such as China and Russia with decent competitiveness in the international market. As mentioned above, according to representatives of Russian Railways, the Moscow-Beijing high-speed railway will cost the countries 7 trillion rubles. The Chinese partners are ready to invest in the construction of the road an amount equivalent to 4 trillion rubles, all other expenses will be assigned to the Russian budget. Today, active negotiations are underway to allocate funds for the construction of a road along the Moscow-Kazan route as part of an international project.

What delays road construction?

The period when the expressway will begin to be built is still little known. This is due to the protracted resolution of funding issues. Considering the situation that has developed in Russia today, despite the fact that China is ready to take over most costs, the country is simply not ready to bear such a massive financial cost. 3 trillion rubles is an unaffordable capital for the state today. It is highly likely that private investors will be attracted to the project.

Technical points and preliminary decisions

The information provided by correspondents of The Beijing Times speaks of an active discussion of the construction of a railway between the countries. The first step towards the implementation of the project should be the way from Moscow to Kazan. It is planned to start the route in Beijing, then the road will pass through cities such as Khabarovsk and Ulan Bator, Irkutsk and Astana, Yekaterinburg. Moscow will be the final destination. The completed high-speed railway will be three times longer than the current high-speed line between Beijing and Guangzhou. The travel time between cities after the implementation of the project will be not six days, but only two. Today, only two trains run between the capitals of the two states during the week. The route was opened in 1954. The Trans-Siberian Railway is considered the longest in the world. It stretched from Moscow to Vladivostok. It crosses 400 stations, and its length is 9288 kilometers.

The first difficulties and the first cardinal steps

High-speed in the short term is unlikely to enter its route. As mentioned above, the first stage of the project, which in the future will connect the territories of the two states, should be the Moscow-Kazan road, the preliminary cost of which turned out to be too high for Russia. To attract investors, Gazprombank held a road show worth 1.06 trillion rubles in cities such as Beijing and Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai. According to preliminary information, a number of meetings with potential partners around the world have already taken place:

May 14 - in Singapore.
May 15 - in Shanghai.
May 16 - in Beijing.

In the future, a visit of representatives of Gazprom Bank to Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, is being considered. According to Russian Railways representatives, meetings with Asian investors have been planned for several months. It is necessary to involve the East in partnership due to severe sanctions from the West. The message from Pronedra said that the expressway would not be built in the next few years. The implementation of the first part of the project, the HSR between Moscow and Kazan, may be postponed to 2020. This is due to the fact that Russian Railways has not yet managed to find an investor.

The first stage of the project implementation

The state budget of the country and Russian Railways intend to allocate 191.9 billion rubles for the first stage of the project implementation. Other sections of the route, such as Vladimir-Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod-Cheboksary, Cheboksary-Kazan, are planned to be developed through concessions. This is what the Ministry of Transport announced on January 29, 2015. For the first time, residents of the region, within the framework of which the high-speed road will be implemented, learned about the project only at the beginning of 2015. The new track will run parallel to the M-7 federal highway, known as the Volga. The train will make stops. In particular, in Vladimir the station will be located in Sukhodol.

What do the inhabitants of the regions say?

The Moscow-Beijing high-speed railway, on the map, which will pass through a fairly large area of \u200b\u200bterritories, caused a very mixed reaction among people who will have to live next door to it. There are those who are worried about the expected damage that will affect farmland, forests and established laying. The authorities officially announced that at each site where construction will be carried out, all activities will be pre-agreed with the population. One of the sources of information says that if a sponsor can be found, the HSR will be opened in 2018. The maximum speed on the road will be 400 kilometers per hour, which will shorten the journey from Moscow to Kazan from 11 hours to 3.5.

Duties of the parties

The Moscow-Beijing high-speed railway, the scheme of which is theoretically very attractive and profitable, according to preliminary plans, should begin its work in the period from 2018 to 2020. In the future, the Chinese side undertakes to provide its technologies for the implementation of the project. The country is ready to take full responsibility for planning and construction. In exchange for large-scale assistance, China is ready to accept energy resources from Russia.

Until December 15, 2014, it was planned to develop the conditions under which Chinese companies will be able to participate in the project. Information about whether it was possible to formalize the agreement is still hidden from the public. The right to design the Moscow-Kazan highway project was won by a Russian-Chinese consortium managed by Mostgiprotrans OJSC with the active participation of Nizhegorodmetroproekt OJSC and CREEC (China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co. Ltd.). The price of the contract for this category of work is equivalent to 20 billion rubles, but excluding VAT.

Analysts about the project

The Moscow-Beijing high-speed railway is a high-priority and promising project, but this does not prevent analysts from being skeptical about it. They say that the timing of the launch of high-speed lines in the context of 2018-2020 is unrealistic. According to Alexey Bezborodov, who holds the post of general director of the InfraNews agency, the project will not be launched in the next decade either. The basis for this attitude was the official statement of the Russian Railways representative that at the moment there is no specific action plan for the construction of high-speed lines. There is only a high probability that the Moscow-Kazan road will be extended to Yekaterinburg and beyond in the future.

Who will benefit from the construction of the expressway?

It will bring certain advantages not only for Russian Railways, but also for states as a whole. This is due to agglomeration effects that will arise as the population is resettled during the implementation of the project. In the expected future, the high-speed highway should increase GRP by 30-70% in the regions. Additional income from the road will correspond to no less than 11 trillion rubles in the first decade of the project operation. This figure was presented by a group of economic institutions headed by the Ministry of Economic Development. If the high-speed railway does appear, the GRP will increase by 38% only on the territory of the Vladimir region alone. This is about plus 84 billion rubles. By 2030, this figure will increase by 58%, or in monetary terms - by 131 billion rubles. In the Nizhny Novgorod region, the expected economic growth is 39%, or 252 billion rubles, but by 2030 it should be at least 76%, or 496 billion. In Chuvashia, the value is expected to grow by 13%, or 20 billion rubles. By 2025, the jump will be 28%, or 43 billion rubles. In Tatarstan, the expected growth of the economy by 2025 will be 27%, or 274 billion rubles.

High-speed railways in Russia

High-speed rail service in Russia began in 2009 and has a history in the form of a limitedly organized high-speed service in the USSR. Initially, high-speed rail service was launched using the reconstructed existing rail lines, and then the creation of a national high-speed traffic system (NSTS) was started on the basis of newly built high-speed rail lines (HSR).

First VSNT projects

As one of the alternative possibilities for high-speed rail traffic and for practicing high speeds on railway tracks, in the 1970s, a prototype jet train car was tested that did not have motor traction from wheel-pair bogies.

In the summer of 2010, a high-speed service was opened on the Sapsan train on the route Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod (minimum travel time 3 hours 55 minutes).