Representatives of 80 countries gathered at the Transport and Logistics Forum in St. Petersburg

The Transport and Logistics Forum, which brought together representatives from 80 countries, started in St. Petersburg on April 1. The participants were shown, among other things, a mock—up of the first Russian high-speed train for the Moscow-St. Petersburg mainline.

The construction of the high—speed highway, the largest transportation project in recent years, began last year. 20,000 specialists work on the test section from Zelenograd to Tver (129 km). The latest rolling stock will be tested here.

"This is the first Russian high-speed train. The model shows three wagons, there will be eight of them in total. The maximum speed is up to 400 km/h. There will be no such speeds on the highway between Moscow and St. Petersburg, however, the distance between the two capitals is two hours," said correspondent Daniil Lankov.

By 2030, it is planned to transport 23 million passengers per year by high-speed rail between Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the future, it is planned to build four more high-speed railways that will connect the capital with Ryazan, Yekaterinburg, Adler and Minsk.

A total of 5,000 people participate in the forum. Key partners include Belarus, China, India, countries in Africa, Asia, and the Arab world.

"The interest that the world has shown in our forum is very important. This speaks to the role of Russia and the importance of the transport agenda in today's global big agenda," said Andrey Nikitin, Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation.

The UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Suhail Mohamed Al-Mazroui, also said that logistics had become more complicated. According to him, everything that happens in the Strait of Hormuz affects all countries and inhabitants of the planet, primarily through rising prices.

The first Russian serial four-wheel drive dump truck BAZ was also shown at the forum for the first time. The model is designed specifically for the development of impenetrable territories, including in the Far East. It is assembled at a factory near St. Petersburg.

"The independent spring suspension was created just to ensure off—road performance and smooth running," explained Dmitry Lebedev, Deputy General Director of Romanov JSC.

On March 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the movement of unmanned trucks along the M-12 Vostok highway during the opening ceremony of the transport industry facilities, which was held via video link. The project started with a simultaneous trip along the route of highly automated vehicles (VATS) of three domestic manufacturers of unmanned vehicles: Yandex, NAVIO and KAMAZ. The President specified that the new single corridor of unmanned cargo transportation will connect St. Petersburg and Kazan.

On the same day, the Russian leader expressed confidence that the commissioning of new transport facilities would have a positive impact on the development of the industry and the economy as a whole. He stressed that all these facilities and initiatives are part of a large systematic effort to create a modern unified transport and logistics framework for the country, to improve the safety and comfort of citizens' movement, and to strengthen regional connectivity.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.