The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, Russian Railways (RZD), the State Committee on Development and Reform of the People's Republic of China, and the Chinese Railways Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of the Moscow-  Kazan High Speed Rail project.

The project involves the development of a 770 km railway that aims to reduce the travel time between Moscow and Kazan in the Republic of Tatarstan from 11.5 hours to 3.5 hours. The rail PPP project is part of the 7,000 km Moscow-Beijing railway linking Russia, Kazakhstan and China.

As part of the agreement, the parties will work to develop a strategic partnership and cooperation for the design supply of equipment, investment, construction and project financing of the high-speed line.

The total project investment is estimated at about RUB1 trillion (US$25 billion). 

Under the agreed scheme for the project, 30% of the total sum will be funded by Russia, 31% will come jointly from Russian Railways, the Pension Fund and the National Welfare Fund, and private companies will provide 25% of the overall financing. According to sources, Chinese companies could invest around $US 10 billion in the project.

The project is the first part of the 7,000 km Moscow-Beijing railway linking Russia, Kazakhstan and China. The new rail line is expected to be operational by 2018.

The Moscow - Kazan high speed line project was presented to potential investors during an industry day that took place in Moscow on March 4th. The line was divided into four segments, each planned to be built simultaneously.