Mishustin approved the route of the high-speed rail Moscow – Kazan.

      The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Mishustin, has approved the route of the high-speed railway (HSR) Moscow — Nizhny Novgorod — Kazan. The corresponding order has been published on the official government portal. According to the document, the HSR, with a length of 770 km, will pass through seven regions. The railway will touch Moscow, the Moscow, Vladimir, and Nizhny Novgorod regions, Chuvashia, Mari El, as well as Tatarstan, where the final point of the route — Kazan — is located. The project will continue to the Urals. The scheme also includes the high-speed railway Kazan — Yekaterinburg, which is 766 km long. It will pass through the territories of Tatarstan, Udmurtia, Bashkortostan, Perm Krai, and Sverdlovsk Oblast. However, the approved document does not specify the timelines for the implementation of the projects. It concerns the strategic planning of the placement of transport infrastructure. Tatarstan is mentioned in the document as one of the key transport hubs. In addition to the HSR, the scheme includes projects for the development and reconstruction of sections of the M-7 "Volga" highway and other infrastructure facilities in the republic. Overall, the updated scheme has been developed taking into account the transport strategy of Russia until 2030, with a forecast until 2036, as well as the current national projects and state programs. It includes 158 road facilities and 167 facilities for rail, air, sea, and inland water transport that are planned to be built or reconstructed in various regions of the country. The volume of funding for the projects will be determined separately when forming the federal budget for the next period. The HSR project Moscow — Kazan has been discussed since 2013. It was expected that the railway would reduce travel time between the cities from 11.5 to 3.5 hours. However, in 2019, the construction of the line did not receive the green light at the presidential level. In 2020, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin announced the suspension of the project, explaining this by the high cost and unconfirmed passenger flow. In October 2023, the HSR received a positive conclusion from the Main State Expert Review. The start of construction is now scheduled for 2028: initially, the construction of the section Moscow — Nizhny Novgorod is planned, and construction of the line to Kazan may begin in 2032.

      It was also previously reported that the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation planned to present the project of the railway to the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, in March. The total cost of the HSR Moscow — Nizhny Novgorod — Kazan — Yekaterinburg was estimated at 4 trillion rubles. At the same time, the first high-speed line in the country is expected to be the route Moscow — St. Petersburg.