Fares for passenger vehicles traveling along a new toll road connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg will be set at about 1,000 rubles ($18), news agency RBC reported Tuesday.
"In very rough terms, the cost for a car to travel from Moscow to St. Petersburg will be in the range of 1,000 rubles," said Sergei Kelbakh, the chairman of the board of state road-building company Avtodor.
Drivers will pay 2.3 rubles per kilometer leading into St. Petersburg, 5.5 rubles per kilometer near Moscow, and 1 ruble per kilometer in between the two along the planned 684 kilometer highway.
The price of the toll road is around the same as a basic train ticket from Moscow to St. Petersburg, which for Tuesday, June 16 was priced as low as 1,000 rubles ($18) on Russian Railways' website.
The first section of the road, a 72-kilometer section located 258 kilometers away from Moscow near the city of Tver, opened in November last year. The route will fully open by 2018 and will have between four and 10 lanes at various points.
The toll highway, to be called the M11, is being built alongside the existing M10 route that connects Moscow and St. Petersburg. The older road is notoriously difficult to drive and dangerous in places.
Trucks using the toll road will pay a higher rate, but Kelbakh did not specify how much. Last year, Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said that trucks could be charged four times more than cars, RBC reported.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
