The first high-speed railway that will be built in Russia will connect Moscow and Kazan, the vice president of Russian Railways said Thursday.

"Moscow-Kazan (railroad) will likely be the first," Alexander Misharin told the State Duma, or lower house of the parliament.

Misharin said the direction was selected because the line could eventually be extended toward China. The first part of the railroad would be built in four years, he said.

"For that, we need to finance 130 billion rubles (4.2 billion US dollars) from the federal budget during four years," he said.

Misharin added the state will pay 70 percent of the construction costs while the company hopes to attract private investors to pay the other 30 percent.

Russian Railways also is considering a plan to participate in the construction of a high-speed railway connecting China to Britain, Misharin said.

Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan republic, is located some 700 km east of Moscow on the Middle Volga River.