Journey times on the iconic Trans-Siberian Railway could be cut by two-thirds if an agreement in principal between China and Russia comes to fruition.
Business Insider reports a memorandum of understanding has been inked between the two countries to look at building a high-speed rail line from Moscow to Beijing.
The landmark project would likely cost a breathtaking $230 billion and at over 4,000 miles in length would be more than three times the world’s current longest high-speed line.
It would cut traveling time from six days to just two days according to Wang Mengshu, a tunnel and railway expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering
"If the funds are raised smoothly the line can be completed in five years at the quickest," Wang added.
Currently trains operate on the Trans-Siberian railway between Moscow and Vladivostok, before switching to a branch line travelling south through the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator.
In just a decade, China has built the world’s largest high-speed rail network and has recently exported its railway engineering know-how overseas, with high-speed rail projects in Turkey and Venezuela.
State-backed China CNR Corporation has also recently expressed interest in supplying trains for California’s proposed $68 billion high-speed rail project.
