Russian railways construction project for 2018 World Cup will require above €25 billion

The Russian Railways have developed the project of high-speed railway communications for the 2018 Football World Cup. The estimated cost of the project makes more than one trillion roubles (€25 billion) according to Kommersant.

According to the estimates some 500,000 persons will use railway transport during the event. There are three options of railway construction: a single branch from Moscow to St.-Petersburg, the said branch together with Moscow – Nizhni Novgorod – Kazan branch, or both branches with the latter being extended up to Yekaterinburg.

Moreover, there will be high-speed links organized between the cities hosting the World Cup, as well as new railways will be built to connect the cities with their respective airports.

In order to transport such numbers of passengers in the airport express trains Russia will require about 100 Siemens Desiro trains in addition to the 54 trains that will be bought for Sochi 2014.

The funds for the project shall be allocated by the government, as the Russian Railways do not have enough money for it and relying on private investment will not allow to meet the deadlines of the 2018 World Cup.