During a working visit to Libya on 14 March, Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin travelled to construction zones involved in a project to lay a modern high-speed rail track more than 550 km in length on the Sirt – Benghazi route, to run along the Mediterranean coast and link major Libyan cities.

Under the project, around 1000 artificial structures are to be built, 30 rail and 23 road flyovers, and six major stations along with 24 minor stations (passenger, freight-and-passenger, freight, and operational). Around 3,500 construction workers will be involved in the project, using more than 1,734 items of machinery.

So far, around 14,000 metres of track have been laid, and 110 track switches have been delivered, of which 51 have been installed. Currently, 438 workers are engaged in the construction work, using 375 items of track, construction, and auto machinery.

A meeting was also held on 14 March between Vladimir Yakunin and Chairman of Libyan Railways Said Mohammed Rashid on the ongoing work.

Speaking after the first day of his visit, Vladimir Yakunin said: “This is the first transport sector project on such a scale in the history of the two countries. Russian Railways, having a wealth of experience in carrying out such projects, is confident that it will meet the timeframe, while achieving a high level of quality. The use of Russian-produced maintenance vehicles will help achieve this goal. This project therefore provides Russian companies with the opportunity to enter new markets.”

The Russian Railways president noted the high level of cooperation that has emerged between the companies and with the Libyan leadership, as well as with contractors.