Russia Cancels $644 Billion Railway Project to china
MOSCOW – Russia has deemed the planned Northern Siberian Railway (Sevsib), a project intended to connect Russia to China, “unfeasible” due to prohibitive costs, according to a report Wednesday from Kommersant, citing a source familiar with the discussions.
The railway would have stretched approximately 2,000 kilometers from Nizhnevartovsk in Russia’s Khanty-Mansi autonomous district to Ürümqi, the capital of China’s Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, linking cities like Beliy Yar and Ust-Ilimsk. A second component would have created a new rail entry point into China in the Altai region.
Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelyev reportedly informed President Vladimir Putin of the decision in a letter.Construction estimates reached around 50 trillion rubles ($644 billion) due to the challenging terrain along the route, the kommersant source said.
The cancellation follows Putin’s 2023 order for a formal feasibility assessment of the Sevsib project as part of the long-term advancement strategy for the Siberian Federal District through 2035.
russian Railways’ (RZhD) investment program has also been significantly reduced and will not exceed 1 trillion rubles ($12.9 billion) in 2026.
Supporters of the railway had argued it would alleviate pressure on the Eastern Polygon network, connect the Trans-Siberian Railway with the Northern Sea Route, and provide a new export corridor for coal. However, expansion of the Eastern Polygon itself has slowed due to cuts in RZhD spending.
The Sevsib project is not the only major rail undertaking facing delays. The Transportation Ministry announced in 2023 a postponement of the 700-kilometer Northern Latitudinal Railway to 2027-2031.
Pavel Ivankin, head of the National Research Center for Transportation and Infrastructure, told Kommersant that Russia ultimately needs Sevsib to support cargo flows for the Northern Sea Route. He described the 50-trillion-ruble price estimate as “realistic,” adding that costs coudl increase with detailed engineering studies.
