The Governor of St. Petersburg assessed the speed of the HSR project implementation

The high-speed railway (HSR) project is being implemented with the speed and scope of the Peter the Great era, said Alexander Beglov, Governor of St. Petersburg. He spoke at the SPIEF panel session "High—speed traffic - the growth points of the economy of the future.

"The importance of HSR for us cannot be overestimated. This is a very important project that is being implemented by the decision of the President. This is a demonstration of the combination of forces, primarily technical and financial, regional and involved. The most important thing is that the HSR megaproject speaks about the sustainability of the development of our country's economy," Beglov said.

He stressed that the HSR will help St. Petersburg in the development of tourism, the speed of transportation of passengers and goods will increase, logistics inside the city will change, and the territories of the historical center in the project area will be transformed.

The HSR, the governor continued, will allow residents of the Novgorod region to get to St. Petersburg in half an hour. "In fact, we are merging with the Novgorod region into one agglomeration, combining industrial, technical and scientific competencies," Beglov added.

Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit, who also took part in the session, recalled that the HSR pilot route between the two Russian capitals will run through six regions. "The highway is primarily about speed. It takes only 2 hours and 15 minutes from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Residents of many regions will be involved in the new modern social life. Tourism, small and medium-sized businesses will develop. Modern digital domestic logistics solutions will be introduced into the project," the minister said.

The day before, Starovoit inspected the preparations for the construction of the Moscow—St. Petersburg high-speed railway.