On Monday, December 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in the celebrations dedicated to the opening of the railway part of the Crimean bridge. This was reported by the Kremlin press service.

"During the trip, the head of state will talk with bridge workers, industry leaders will report to the president on plans for the development of transport infrastructure in southern Russia," the statement said.

Recall that at the end of October, dynamic and static tests of the load-bearing elements of the railway part of the bridge began. In particular, special freight trains began to run along the bridge. In addition, the builders tested the architectural illumination of the main arch, which after a full launch at night will be a Russian tricolor.

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On December 18, the Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Supervision announced that the construction of the railway part of the Crimean bridge was officially completed. Based on the results of the last field inspections held in December, the agency issued a conclusion on compliance with the customer PKU Uprdor Taman.

Before that, on November 8, the sale of train tickets to the Crimea began. The press service of the carrier company "Grand Service Express" said that 50 thousand tickets had already been sold for trains to the Crimea from Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The first train from St. Petersburg to Sevastopol will leave on December 23, from Moscow to Simferopol on December 24. December 25, the first passenger train crosses the Kerch Strait.

The automobile part of the bridge was opened in May 2018. Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the opening ceremony, the first to drive across the bridge behind the wheel of a KamAZ truck. Then the Russian leader noted that he liked the quality of the road surface of the Crimean bridge.

“Everything is comfortable, chic, durable, I hope. This is a good modern ... asphalt mix. I think people will like it, ”Putin said.

He also congratulated the builders, calling the opening of the bridge a historic day and saying that "people dreamed of building it under the tsar-priest." In addition, Putin inspected the Unified Traffic Control Center, whose employees monitor the situation on the Crimean bridge. It also processes data on the state of engineering structures: supports, spans, arches and other structural elements.

Recall that over a year and a half of work, more than 8 million cars drove over the bridge, the highest traffic intensity was recorded in August 2019.

A spokesman for the Russian president Dmitry Peskov said earlier that the commissioning of the railway part of the Crimean bridge will be one of the most important events this year.

State Duma deputy from Sevastopol Dmitry Belik noted that the Crimean bridge is not just a unique object, but a symbol of the return of Sevastopol and Crimea to Russia, "a symbol of a new historical stage in the life of the peninsula."

In turn, the Federation Council said that the opening of the bridge is a long-awaited event for all residents of the country, especially those who are not suitable for traveling by air or by road. As the member of the Federation Council from Crimea Sergey Tsekov specified, the railway line will open up additional opportunities for travelers and allow the Crimea to become the leading resort region of Russia in a few years. Also in the Federation Council added that the bridge will contribute to the creation of new trade routes.

Also, the head of the Federal Agency for Tourism Oleg Safonov said that the opening of the Crimean bridge made it possible to make holidays on the peninsula cheaper, since traveling by car is one of the most economical ways to travel.

Safonov added that the bridge contributes to the development of Crimea and increases the investment attractiveness of the region.

The Crimean bridge with a total length of 19 km connects the Kerch and Taman Peninsulas through the Kerch Strait. It consists of two parallel parts - road and railway. The bridge is the longest ever built by Russia. President Vladimir Putin set the task for the Ministry of Transport to build a transport passage through the Kerch Strait in March 2014, after the annexation of Crimea to Russia as a result of a referendum on the peninsula.