As a result of the open tender for the right to sign the contract for engineering surveys, project-development planning, surveying project areas, and the development of design documentation for the construction of the Moscow-Kazan part of the Moscow-Kazan-Yekaterinburg high-speed rail line, JSC Russian Railways will sign an agreement with a consortium design company headed by Mosgiprotrans, with the participation of Nizhegorodmetroproekt and CREEC (China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co. Ltd.). The timeframe is 2015-2016; the price of the contract will be 20 billion rubles without VAT.
The competition for selecting the designer of the line was conducted in accordance with the requirements of Federal Law no. 223-FZ “On Procurement of Goods, Works and Services of Certain Kinds of Legal Entities” of July 18, 2011, and the procedure of placing orders for goods, works, and services for the core activities of JSC Russian Railways.
The announcement of the competition was preceded by instructions from the leadership of the Russian Federation: in May 2013 President Vladimir Putin decided to implement the Moscow-Kazan HSR pilot project; in September 2013, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev approved the network schedule of the project. The design contest was announced according to the instructions of the Chairman of the Russian Government.
The Russian-Chinese consortium is a most promising professional community, integrating decades of experience and extensive practice in projects, including high-speed traffic and major Russian infrastructural projects.
Mosgiprotrans is a major Russian design institute which has a team of over forty engineers of various specialties: survey (aerial photography, topography, geology, hydrogeology, hydrology, etc.) and design (sub-grade, station, architecture, bridges, electricity, electrification, heating, gas, etc.). The institute has designed large infrastructure projects implemented in Russia: the Baikal-Amur Mainline; the Amur-Yakutsk Mainline; and a large number of railway lines, bridges, stations, and other facilities. The works of the Institute include the design of the site Moscow-Kryukovo (the fourth main path of the October Railway), the development of standards for high-speed (250 km/h) passenger trains in Russia, the general scheme of the Moscow railway junction, reconstruction projects, the construction of the country’s largest railway junctions, etc.
CREEC, which has previously served as the state design institute, is one of the largest engineering companies in China. The structure consists of 16 CREEC design institutes, 17 administrative departments, 22 subsidiaries, seven overseas offices, one research centre, and one research and development centre; it has a total of more than 6000 employees. It is a modern enterprise engaged in the field of railways and roads, urban rail transportation, utilities, multi-story building, port operations, geotechnical studies, surveys, research, project management, process supervision, investment and financing, construction, preparation for industrial production, and international business.
CREEC plays an important role in the modernisation of rail transport in China and has accumulated rich experience in the field of utility routes, as well as specialised high-speed passenger lines. To date, the company has designed more than 4 700 tracks with speeds of up to 200 km/h, 2 500 km of railway lines with speeds of up to 250 km/h, and 1000 km of railway lines with speeds of up to 350 km/h.
Nizhegorodmetroproekt (formerly Gorkovmetroproekt Institute) participated in drafting the metros in Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Kazan, and a number of other modern infrastructure facilities, such as the combined (road and rail) bridge across the Oka River. The skilled engineering staff of the institute and the latest software and design techniques make it possible to carry out projects in a professional manner and ensure the reliability of the design decisions.
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The length of the Moscow-Kazan pilot HSR line will be 770 km; it will pass through the territory of seven regions of Russia with a total population exceeding 25 million people. The project provides 15 stops, including ones in Moscow, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Cheboksary, and Kazan. The journey from Moscow to Kazan will take 3.5 hours, while from Nizhny Novgorod to Cheboksary will take 1 hour and to Kazan will take 1.5 hours. Annual passenger traffic in the first years of operation of the line is estimated to be 10.5 million people.
The project involves the deep (at least 80%) localisation of advanced production, the creation of more than 370,000 jobs, and the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the regions the line with pass through. It is the largest infrastructure project in Russia today, the implementation of which requires the use of public-private partnerships. Investment in the project will provide large-scale support of the Russian industry, especially metallurgy (the manufacture of rails), machinery, building materials, and other industries.
(Source: Russian Railways)