The Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Transport have agreed on prices for trips on the Moscow – St. Petersburg high-speed line – 5,008 rubles – Kommersant

The Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Transport have agreed on an approach to setting tariffs on the future high-speed line that will connect Moscow with St. Petersburg, reports RBC. The conditional cost of a trip on the Moscow-St. Petersburg HSR based on 2022 prices will be 5,008 rubles. This is more expensive than alternative modes of transport, however, the actual costs of the passenger (total transport costs) on the high-speed railway should be 17.5% lower than the average prices of other modes of transport and amount to 7,654 rubles.

The RBC source explains the reduction in cost by saying that the cost calculation takes into account the weighted average cost of one hour of passenger time, which he spends not only on the trip itself, but also on the way to the transport and waiting. “Sapsan,” according to 2022 tariffs, costs 4,813 rubles, an airplane costs 4,056 rubles, the publication’s interlocutor noted.

Thus, it is assumed that the time spent on travel using the high-speed train will take a total of 3 hours 45 minutes, of which 2 hours 15 minutes will be spent on the flight itself. In turn, the total travel time by car along the M-11 is 7 hours 30 minutes, by plane or Sapsan – 5 hours 30 minutes.

The ministries believe that most of the traffic will be generated by passengers transferring from other vehicles. About 25%, or 5.7 million passengers, will transfer to the high-speed railway from the high-speed Sapsan and Lastochka trains; 12.5% ​​(2.9 million) and 14% (3.2 million) – from personal vehicles and air transport, respectively; 9% (2.1 million) – from night trains; about 5% (1.1 million) – from commuter trains and about 2% – from buses; Induced demand (demand generated due to improved conditions) of the HSR will bring another 7.6 million of its own passengers. Subsequently, this will amount to 37% of all HSR traffic.

By 2030, HSR passenger traffic should reach 23 million people per year, which, together with other modes of transport, will ensure the transportation of 43.3 million people. By 2060, passenger traffic is projected to increase to 36.4 million people on the high-speed railway and 62.3 million people combined with other modes of transport. Currently, 32.2 million passengers travel annually on the Moscow-St. Petersburg route.

The new transport will provide an increase in gross added value of more than 4 trillion rubles. “due to agglomeration effects, increasing population mobility, attracting tourists, and the effect of increasing road safety.”

Other parameters of the future highway have not yet been agreed upon. In the near future, the documentation will be sent for evaluation to the office of First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, who is overseeing this project.

Read more about the construction of high-speed highways in the material “What does it cost us to build a path”.

Alexandra Goroshilova