French-made Allegro speed train will make its first run from Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg to Finland's capital Helsinki on Sunday.
Two trains would move with the maximum speed of 200 kmph (124 mph) on the Russian stretch of the railroad, and 220 kmph (137 mph) across the Finnish territory, covering the distance of 443 km (275 miles) in slightly more than 3.5 hours. Previously, a trip from St. Petersburg to Helsinki took six hours and 18 minutes.
The number of trains would be increased to four by summer 2011.
Each train has 244 seats, including 48 first-class seats. The first-class ticket costs 134 euros ($177.2), a seat in the second class is available for 84 euros ($111.1).
The project's estimated cost stands at 79.7 billion rubles ($2.6 billion), including 51.7 billion rubles ($1.7 billion) provided by Russia's railway monopoly RZD and 28 billion rubles ($900 million) from Russia's investment fund.
MOSCOW, December 12 (RIA Novosti)
