Thursday, 12 September 2024
State Secretary of the Union State Dmitry Mezentsev reported: "In pursuance of the instructions of the President of Belarus, we will strive to reach a new level of passenger transportation. We are grateful for the response of the management of the Ministry of Transport of Belarus and Belarusian Railways to our proposal to increase the number of cars in Belarus branded train on Minsk-Moscow route; these are only the first steps."
According to him, a preliminary agreement has been reached with Russian Railways to put into operation one additional daytime pair of Lastochka trains from November 1, 2024.
"In the conditions of increasing passenger traffic, these measures will not be enough. Therefore, in the near future, a meeting of the heads of Russian Railways and Belarusian Railways - Oleg Belozerov and Valery Verenich - will take place in Moscow. Prospects for a wider use of the rolling stock, its renewal within the framework of leasing instruments are being worked out," the State Secretary of the Union State noted.
Speaking about the plans to build a high-speed railway between Moscow and Minsk, Dmitry Mezentsev informed: "It is planned that the length of Moscow-Minsk high-speed railway (conditional name "Soyuz") will be 715 km. Trains will reach speeds of up to 400 km/h. 21 high-speed trains will be required. Passenger traffic is expected to be at the level of 3.8 million people per year (currently 1.1 million). Travel time will be 3 hours (currently at least 7 hours)."
