On Friday, the professional holiday is celebrated by the servicemen of the Railway Troops (ZhDV) of Russia.

This formation leads its history from the provision on the creation of the first special military units for the protection and operation of the St. Petersburg-Moscow railway.

This document, in accordance with which 14 separate military workers' companies appeared, two conductor companies and one telegraphic company, was approved by Emperor Nicholas I on August 6, 1851.

“The soldiers and officers of the Railway Troops took part in all the wars and armed conflicts that fell to the lot of Russia, in the construction of strategic railways for the state, as well as in the elimination of the consequences of natural disasters, accidents and catastrophes on the country's railways,” reads the materials of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation ...

The railway workers made a huge contribution to the success of battles during the Great Patriotic War.

The Red Army soldiers provided technical cover for the highways, and with a counteroffensive near Moscow and in other sectors of the front, restoration work was launched.

The railway units distinguished themselves in the defense of Moscow, Leningrad, in the battles for Stalingrad, on the Kursk Bulge, in the operations for the liberation of Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic States, Moldova and the countries of Eastern Europe.

In total, during the Second World War, the military personnel of the railway troops, together with the special formations of the People's Commissariat of Railways, restored and built almost 120 thousand km of tracks and more than 15 thousand artificial structures.

  • Red Army soldiers clear the tracks at the railway station in Königsberg

  • RIA News

  • © Vasily Savransky

As military expert Alexei Khlopotov explained in an interview with RT, the railway infrastructure during the Second World War was of enormous importance for the transfer of troops and military equipment.

Despite the large-scale changes that have occurred in recent decades, the role of railway units remains invariably high.

“The role of the railway troops in Russia has always been enormous.

Neither aviation nor sea transport can still replace the railway, especially given the size of the territory of the Russian Federation.

Very often, the laying and well-organized operation of the tracks becomes the main guarantee of the normal material and technical support of the troops, "Khlopotov emphasized.

"We performed a feat of labor"

The railway units made a significant contribution to the post-war restoration of the national economy of the USSR.

The railway workers focused their main efforts on the reconstruction of highways connecting Moscow with the Donbass, the Caucasus and the western republics of the Soviet Union.

Also, thanks to the Railways, large transport arteries were laid in the Urals and Siberia.

From 1974 to 1989, railway workers took an active part in the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline.

The personnel of the units put into operation about 1.5 thousand km of the main track of the BAM, 1227 bridges and artificial structures.

As noted on the website of the Russian Ministry of Defense, every ninth kilometer of railways in the USSR was electrified by railway servicemen.

During the Soviet period, the railway troops were repeatedly involved in the elimination of the consequences of natural disasters and catastrophes.

The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in April 1986 was no exception.

The railway workers in the shortest possible time built access roads to the site of the tragedy, which made it possible to quickly erect a sarcophagus over the emergency power unit.

“In the post-war period, the railway workers performed a real labor feat, which made it possible to connect different parts of Russia.

The activities of the Railway Troops had a large-scale positive impact on the economy and allowed at the end of the 1980s to create in the structure of the Strategic Missile Forces unique units for the operation of railway complexes with intercontinental ballistic missiles, ”Khlopotov recalled.

In the 1990s, the merit of the railway units was the restoration of the railway infrastructure of the North Caucasus, which was badly damaged during the confrontation between federal troops and bandit formations.

“In 1994-1996, military railroad workers restored more than 24 km of track superstructure, 77 km of communication lines, 67 km of power supply lines, 28 km of automatic blocking lines, 11 artificial structures with a total length of 300 m, 1519 cubic meters.

meters of subgrade ”, - according to the materials of the RF military department.

The railway workers did a tremendous job during the second Chechen campaign, which began in 1999.

Upon its completion, the servicemen took part in the restoration of the transport infrastructure of Chechnya.

Thanks to the personnel of the railway units, new tracks were built in the republic, bridges over rivers were reconstructed, and communication and power supply lines were laid.

  • Restoration of the railway track in the North Caucasus

  • RIA News

  • © Oleg Lastochkin

According to experts, the well-coordinated work of the military-railway workers in the North Caucasus made it possible to provide the federal forces with the necessary equipment, ammunition, and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in the region.

With the defeat of the bandit formations in the early 2000s, the proper functioning of the railway arteries made it possible to launch large-scale construction work.

"In wartime, railway troops help to concentrate large army groups in threatened areas, and in peacetime - to restore normal life, to ensure the conduct of exercises, to promote the development of industry and the economy," Dmitry Litovkin, editor of the Nezavisimoye Voennoye Obozreniye newspaper, noted in a commentary on RT.

"Through swamps and swamps"

One of the latest implemented projects of the railway troops was the construction of the Zhuravka - Millerovo section of the Moscow - Adler direction in 2017.

The new routes saved Russia from the need to let freight and passenger trains through the territory of Ukraine.

Construction work in the Rostov and Voronezh regions took three years and was carried out almost around the clock.

The military erected 137 km of railroad tracks and laid 318 km of power lines.

Also, work was carried out to clear the area and archaeological excavations at 15 burial mounds.

The first trains on the new road passed in September 2017.

For the successful completion of the construction of the artery, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu awarded the 39th separate railway brigade with the Order of Zhukov.

According to experts, the commissioning of the Zhuravka-Millerovo section has radically increased the transport security of southern Russia and removed barriers to the development of tourism, transportation of citizens and industrial goods.

Another significant project of the railway troops was the reconstruction of a collapsed railway bridge over the Kola River in the Murmansk region.

The work was carried out by the personnel of the 29th separate railway brigade together with the engineers of the Western Military District in June last year.

At the present time, the key project of the railway troops of the Russian Federation is the modernization of the Baikal-Amur Mainline.

The military of the 5th separate Poznan brigade must lay the second branch of the BAM in swampy terrain and complete off-road conditions.

“Our railway troops were the first to enter the construction of the second branch of the BAM with a length of 340 kilometers.

This is the worst part of the BAM, the most difficult is through swamps and swamps.

There is not a single road nearby, "the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry quotes General of the Army Dmitry Bulgakov, deputy head of the military department.

The railway workers started the construction of the second section of the Baikal-Amur Mainline at the end of July.

Until 2025, servicemen are to commission 19 new facilities, with the first two already next year.

This was announced on August 3 at a meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry by Sergei Shoigu.

According to him, the railway workers have a "large scope of work."

In this regard, the military department took care of creating "the most comfortable conditions" for living and working.

In particular, modern block-modular townships were erected on the construction sites, about 700 units of automotive, engineering and special equipment were involved.

  • Section of the Baikal-Amur Mainline

  • RIA News

  • © Valery Melnikov

“Using the full potential of the northeastern branch will increase the transport capabilities of Eastern Siberia, the throughput of the highway and the volume of transit traffic.

Russia will also be able to expand its access to the markets of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, ”the minister said.

As Dmitry Litovkin explained, the modernization of the BAM is of great importance for strengthening the military security of Russia and serves as an additional stimulus for the economic development of Siberia.

With the launch of the northeast branch, a more reliable road connection will be provided, the expert says.

Alexey Khlopotov adheres to a similar opinion.

According to the analyst, the transfer of the railway project of the second artery of the BAM is evidence of the high assessment and confidence of the leadership of the Russian Federation in this formation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

“The railway troops, in fact, ensure the connectivity of the regions, and BAM has long been in need of increasing its capacity. The modernization of the highway has long been approached, but it was the military that was entrusted with it. I think that the Russian leadership took into account the successful experience of performing other tasks and the ability of the railway troops to work in the most difficult areas, "Khlopotov summed up.