Euro 2012 news

High-speed train "Sapsan" between Russia and Ukraine intend to run the company "Russian Railways" (RZD). Said the Ambassador of Ukraine to Russia, Vladimir Yelchenko. How and when this happens, he did not elaborate.

At a meeting with St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matvienko, Ambassador of Ukraine said that RZD President Vladimir Yakunin, with whom he met last week, informed him of plans to launch high-speed train "Sapsan" in Kiev.

Currently, high-speed train "Sapsan" run only on the route Saint-Petersburg - Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod.

For the first time on this route "Sapsan" went to 17 December 2009. "Sapsan" can rush at speeds up to 250 kilometers per hour: the distance between St. Petersburg and Moscow high-speed trains cross the three hours and 45 minutes. In Nizhny Novgorod from Moscow, "Sapsan" delivers passengers for four hours.

In June, RZD President Vladimir Yakunin and the Minister of Transport of Ukraine Konstantin Efimenko signed a bilateral agreement on the development of high-speed rail traffic between the two countries. It was on route from Moscow to Kiev, Moscow - Adler (in Kiev) and Moscow - Simferopol. In addition to using high-speed train project, the parties agreed to change the system of border-customs control.

For this project Railways, the parties intended to use electric VC-20, reach a speed of 200 kilometers per hour. However, their producer “Transmashholding” currently has only projects such locomotives.

The total cost of the project has not yet been updated. According to preliminary calculations, preparation of infrastructure only to the Ukrainian section of the railway between Moscow and Kiev would cost $ 300 million.

Now infrastructure and rolling stock of railways, both in Russia and in Ukraine, do not allow enough to increase the speed of movement. The maximum permissible speed of trains on these sites does not exceed 140 kilometers per hour, whereas for the project a significant reduction in the duration of movement required speed of 200-220 kilometers per hour.

In 2011, in preparation for the European Football Championship in 2012, with matches to be held in Kiev and Kharkov, Moscow-Kiev will run high-speed trains. Fast trains are currently run between Moscow and Kiev.