According to a recent company statement, the consortium led by its wholly owned subsidiary China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group won the bid for the 770km-long Moscow-Kazan HSR segment. This consortium also includes the National Transportation Engineering Design Institute of Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod Metro Design.

As part of the contract, the company will be responsible to oversee completion of the construction project for the geotechnical investigation, surveying and area planning.

Additional activities included under the contract are preparation of plan on land investigation, and preparation of design documents for the segment of the Moscow-Kazan-Yekaterinburg HSR Line 2015-2016 of Russian Railways.

The Moscow-Kazan HSR segment is an integral part of the transport development strategy issued by Russia, which will extend to Yekaterinburg, stated the company.

The railways will have a maximum design speed of 400km/h and 1,520mm rail gauge.

Following completion, the railway segment is expected to reduce travelling time between Moscow and Kazan from 14h to 3.5h.

The total estimated cost of the project is CNY129.43billion (US$21 billion) and it is expected to be completed prior to the 2018 FIFA World Cup.