In the Amur Region, in the village of Verkhnezeysk, work has begun on the modernization of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM).
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu took part in the ceremony marking the laying of the first stone of the renovated transport artery.
“Today we have laid a stone symbolizing the beginning of the reconstruction of the eastern branch of the Baikal-Amur Mainline.
This is a 340 km section from Ulak to Fevralsk, "the press service of the military department quotes Shoigu.
The work should be completed by 2025.
The modernization of the north-eastern expressway of the BAM fell on the shoulders of 10 brigades of the RF railway troops.
These divisions began to prepare for a large-scale construction project back in April.
In addition to them, student teams recruited from cadets are involved in the reconstruction of the highway.
According to the Minister of Defense, students of military training centers were given the opportunity to work "in conjunction with the best representatives of the railway troops."
“This practice is not new.
In Soviet times, tens of thousands of students passed it, many of whom later became major business executives and politicians.
The head of our state, as well as many other well-known leaders, are no exception, ”Shoigu said.
In a commentary to RT, Anatoly Vasiliev, professor of the Department of Design and Construction of Railways at the Moscow State University of Railways, called the modernization of the north-eastern chord of the BAM a grandiose event for modern Russia.
“There is no doubt the enormous importance of the work undertaken by the railway troops.
We are witnessing a gradual increase in the carrying capacity of a strategically important highway, ”Vasiliev said.
Intercontinental route
The Baikal-Amur Mainline is one of the main railway arteries in Russia.
The construction of the BAM began even before the Great Patriotic War, but truly large-scale work began only in 1974.
The laying of a railway track across the endless, impassable expanses of Siberia turned into an all-Union construction project with the widespread involvement of Komsomol members.
As stated on the Russian Railways website, the final completion of the project is considered to be the launch of traffic along the Severo-Muisky tunnel on December 5, 2003.
Geographical position of the Baikal-Amur Mainline
© JSC "Russian Railways"
The total length of the BAM is 4300 km.
The highway runs through the Irkutsk and Amur regions, Yakutia, Buryatia, Transbaikal and Khabarovsk territories.
It is connected with the Trans-Siberian Railway by three lines.
The highway was built in regions with harsh natural and climatic conditions and difficult terrain.
The builders of the BAM took enormous efforts to lay routes through 11 deep rivers and seven mountain ranges.
Numerous problems were solved thanks to the development of modern structures, as well as the emergence of new methods of construction and operation.
The launch of BAM made it possible to create the shortest railway route between East and West.
The highway opened up an opportunity for transit traffic and provided the domestic industry with access to the richest natural resources of Siberia.
The Neryungrinskoye and Urgalskoye coal deposits and sources of iron ore in the Irkutsk region have the most important cargo-forming importance for the Baikal-Amur Mainline.
As the economic development progresses, the BAM infrastructure may be required to service more than two dozen new fields.
Since 2013, with the support of the state, Russian Railways has been improving the Baikal-Amur Mainline, striving, first of all, to eliminate bottlenecks.
“At present, a double-track railway has been built from Taishet to Lena (704 km) and a single-track railway from Lena to Taksimo (725 km).
A single-track railway with diesel traction has been built on the rest of the BAM section, ”the Russian Railways website says.
According to experts, the main problem of BAM is its insufficient carrying capacity, especially taking into account Russia's plans to develop the mining industry in Siberia, to increase transit and export flows through the territory of this macroregion.
“For example, the railways are now unable to cope with the cargo that goes to the Far Eastern ports.
Further economic development is impossible without modernization of the BAM, ”Vasiliev explained.
The Russian government plans to bring the throughput capacity of BAM and Transsib to 180 million tons by 2024.
The authorities expect to ensure the growth of transit container traffic by four times and reduce the delivery time of goods from the Far East to the western border of Russia to seven days.
More than 2 trillion rubles will be allocated to improve railways and other investment projects of Russian Railways in 2021-2023.
This figure was announced by the head of the Russian government Mikhail Mishustin at the end of December last year at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
In July, at a meeting with members of the government, the head of state called BAM an "economically profitable" and "payback" project.
A month earlier, the President had approved a list of instructions on the development of the railway infrastructure of the Baikal-Amur and Trans-Siberian Railways.
Transportation of coal by rail
RIA News
© Pavel Lisitsyn
The document says that the modernization of the BAM and Transsib should ensure stable transport links between "promising centers of economic growth" and guaranteed energy supply to the territories adjacent to the railway arteries.
Also, the improvement of the infrastructure of Siberia and the Far East is intended to remove logistical restrictions on the entry of Russian enterprises into the markets of the countries of the Asia-Pacific Region (APR).
In this direction, the President set the task of modernizing the approaches to key seaports and checkpoints across the state border.
"Large scope of work"
As Shoigu said on August 3 at a conference call with the leadership of the RF Armed Forces, the railway troops are reconstructing the north-eastern chord of the BAM on behalf of the president.
According to the Minister of Defense, the Ulak
-
Fevralsk
section
"is of great importance for the country's economy."
The head of the Ministry of Defense said that the commissioning of the northeastern branch will increase the transport potential of Eastern Siberia and will allow Russia to expand its access to the markets of the Asia-Pacific region.
According to Shoigu, modern block-modular camps were promptly erected on the site to provide the builders with everything they needed, and about 700 units of automotive, engineering and special equipment were involved in the reconstruction of the tracks.
“It is planned to commission 19 objects in three and a half years.
Two are due next year, 12 in 2023 and five in 2024.
There is a large scope of work for the military railway workers, but we have created the most comfortable conditions for their living and work, ”Shoigu said.
Earlier, the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, General of the Army Dmitry Bulgakov, called the Ulak
-
Fevralsk
artery
“the worst section on the BAM”.
He explained that the military will have to work in swampy areas and in complete off-road conditions.
As Nikita Maslennikov, head of Finance and Economics at the Institute of Contemporary Development, recalled in a conversation with RT, for a long time the Russian state was unable to “approach” the modernization of the north-eastern chord of the Baikal-Amur Mainline.
“BAM lies in rather difficult natural conditions, which sometimes require non-standard engineering solutions.
In addition, the government was looking for sources of funding.
However, the start of reconstruction shows that all problems have been resolved, including money ones, ”Maslennikov says.
The modernization of BAM, according to the expert, should raise the Siberian regions to a new economic level and at the same time increase "transportation capacity in trade and economic relations with China."
“The modernization of the eastern branch of the BAM is of significant and fundamental importance.
The main thing is, of course, the development of the regions in this part of Russia.
A modern railroad with good traffic capacity is a powerful incentive for commercial activity.
The second point is the development of trade and economic relations with China, ”Maslennikov argues.
In an interview with RT, Pavel Feldman, deputy director of the RUDN Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, said that the BAM update is aimed at the socio-economic development of Siberia, an increase in Russian exports to the APR and an increase in the transit potential of the Russian Federation as a whole.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at the laying of the first stone of the renewed eastern branch of the BAM in Verkhnezeysk
© Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
In addition, the modernization of the Baikal-Amur Mainline is of great importance for Russia's military security, allowing more troops to be transferred more quickly.
In turn, the Russian Railways website reports that in the military-strategic sense, BAM "fends off possible disruptions and interruptions in the movement of trains on the Trans-Siberian Railway."
“Modernization of BAM is an integral element of the comprehensive and long-term development of our entire country.
The Russian leadership is well aware of this.
Therefore, despite the high level of pressure on the budget and the difficulties caused by the pandemic, it found resources to implement plans for the reconstruction of the northeast expressway, "Feldman summed up.