Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Finnish President Tarja Halonen took part in the inaugural journey of a high speed rail train between Helsinki and St. Petersburg on December 12, 2010, the result coming nearly a decade after the project was first conceived. The rail link’s opening completes the first on a list of issues discussed at the EU-Russia Innovation Forum which took place in Finland in June.
In 2011, four high speed trains supplied by France's Alstom are expected to carry 250,000 passengers between St. Petersburg and Helsinki, in Russian Railways' first joint international project in partnership with Finnish VR-Group. Travelling time between the two cities, separated by 450 kilometers, is reduced from five to three and a half hours.
The new train connection is also a potential model for a proposed easing of the visa regime between the EU and Russia, as Russian Railways Chief Vladimir Yakunin said Vladimir Putin had agreed to consider a 72-hour visa free travel window for passengers of the line, a benefit already in place for cruise ship travelers.
With the recent announcement that Russia will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, rail infrastructure – specifically high speed services – are even more of a major focus for the Russian government, as Putin confirmed during a press conference this weekend: "We are planning a program of construction of high speed rail to serve the cities which will host the World Cup.” The new St. Petersburg-Helsinki connection is Russia’s second high-speed link after the construction of the current connection between Moscow and St. Petersburg, which has cut the travel time between the two cities from five hours if by air to three hours and forty five minutes.
Industries related to the railway sector have been investing in Russia in past years in anticipation of the updating and expansion of its current rail system. In 2006 Siemens completed a $926 million sale of eight trains with a 30-year service agreement for the line connecting the two largest cities in the country, while the Russian Rail Service has budgeted $485 million upgrading tracks throughout the country in order to meet the standards for travel needed for the World Cup.
Putin quipped that the inaugural journey was so quick he and Tarja Halonen “didn't even have enough time to talk."
Click here to read more about high-speed rail developments in Russia and Siemens' work with Russian Railways.
By Nayakan Ahluwalia Fri Mar 23 04:07:32 GMT 2012
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For me, it seems that I get a lot more.
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