Russia and Belarus have signed a memorandum of cooperation on the design and construction of the Moscow — Minsk high-speed railway. Trains on the future HSR will be able to reach speeds of up to 400 km/h, and the travel time between the two capitals is planned to be reduced from seven to nine hours to approximately three hours.

The document was signed by Russian Minister of Transport Andrey Nikitin and Belarusian Minister of Transport and Communications Alexey Lyakhnovich. The Russian Ministry of Transport reports that the length of the future highway will be more than 700 km, and the projected passenger traffic will be up to 5.8 million people per year.

The countries have already begun joint project preparation. The financial and economic model of the Moscow — Minsk HSR is expected to be approved in 2028–2029.

According to the Ministry of Transport, construction of the highway is planned to begin after the launch of the first Russian HSR Moscow — St. Petersburg. Its launch is scheduled for 2028.

The new line should reduce travel time between Moscow and Minsk from seven to nine hours to three hours. The Ministry of Transport also states that the project should improve transport accessibility of the two capitals and adjacent regions, as well as expand opportunities for business and tourist trips.

After signing the memorandum, Russian Railways (RZD) should begin work on the preliminary technical justification for the Moscow — Minsk HSR. The financial and economic model of the project is planned to be approved in 2028–2029.

In addition to the line to Minsk, there are plans for other HSR routes from Moscow — to Yekaterinburg via Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan, to Adler and Ryazan.