Plans for the High-Speed Railway (HSR) route through St. Petersburg have been unveiled, outlining construction and reconstruction efforts necessary for the project. The draft territorial planning scheme, accessible on the Ministry of Economic Development’s website, details the infrastructural changes required to accommodate the HSR, including a branch line to the “Volkovskaya” station.
The project includes both the construction of new facilities and the reconstruction of existing railway infrastructure. A map accompanying the scheme uses color-coded lines to differentiate between new construction (red), reconstructed tracks (yellow), and existing tracks (white). New stations will be marked in red, reconstructed stations in yellow, and existing stations will remain white.
The HSR line will originate near Vosstaniya Square, with a branch connecting to Volkovskaya station to redirect trains from Moscow Railway Station. From Obukhovo, the line will diverge from the existing OZD tracks, extending south towards the Leningrad and Novgorod regions.
Key reconstruction efforts will focus on several critical locations. These include the terminal at Moscow Railway Station, the non-passenger station “St. Petersburg-Tovarny-Moskovsky” located behind the Obvodny Canal, and the “Sorting” station (officially named “Sorting named after V.N. Morozov”) behind the Farforovskaya post. Notably, stations such as “Farforovskaya,” “Obukhovo,” and “Volkovskaya,” where major transport hubs are planned, are not currently designated for reconstruction or construction in the official documentation. Furthermore, a new technical station, “Obukhovo-2,” is slated for construction behind the Ring Road.
Infrastructure development for the HSR’s passage through St. Petersburg is already underway, with “Natsproektstroy” leading the efforts. Construction is particularly active in the Obukhovo area, with the project encompassing 15 artificial structures, including bridges, railway overpasses, and tunnels. VSM Two Capitals LLC has entered into a concession agreement with Roszheldor for the construction of the Moscow-St. Petersburg high-speed railway, with a total project cost of 2.349 trillion rubles and an anticipated launch date of April 1, 2028. A leasing agreement with GTLK is also in place for the supply of 41 high-speed trains by 2030.
The high-speed rail is expected to significantly reduce travel time between St. Petersburg and Moscow, with an estimated journey duration of 2 hours and 15 minutes. Ticket prices are projected to be around 10 thousand rubles.
A new terminal for receiving and sending trains in St. Petersburg will be built near the Moscow Railway Station, on the site of the Kokorev warehouses. The city has recently approved the architectural design of the terminal. To ensure optimal transport accessibility, plans include the construction of streets and a tunnel under the railway tracks, along with a new exit from the Ligovsky Prospekt metro station, all targeted for completion by 2028.