On 8 July, at Tynda’s central stadium, during the celebrations surrounding the 40th anniversary of the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) railway, a video message was relayed by Russian President Vladimir Putin from Moscow to Tynda, congratulating all the manufacturers, construction veterans and current line workers, on the occasion of this round-number anniversary.
As pointed out by Vladimir Putin, the BAM railway was not only a colossal construction project but also a huge challenge for the country: “The railway had great strategic, military and economic significance. People had to work in very harsh climatic and geological conditions; this was a strain for the entire nation, and especially for those people who actually worked there. What they did was undoubtedly a heroic feat. Today, we are working to expand the capacity of BAM and to establish this country as a powerful transport nation”, highlighted the President of the Russian Federation.
During the video link, the Russian President also inaugurated the ceremony of laying a silver rail joint on the Taksimo-Lodya railway section of the East Siberian Railway, symbolising the launch of the new large-scale BAM-2 project. “For us this construction has great significance as we are aware of the difficulties and responsibilities that we face. We have never let you down and we won’t let you down today”, said President of RZD Vladimir Yakunin.”
The total cost of financing this project is around 12.2 billion euros, of which 6.46 billion euros will be provided by RZD, and the remaining 5.56 billion euros by the National Welfare Fund and Russian Federation budget.
RZD has already begun work on developing its eastern section in strict compliance with the government-approved schedule.
A public technical and financial audit is currently taking place, the results of which are being analysed by experts during public hearings before being submitted to the government. Schedules for research, construction and installation have been prepared as well as a research department. RZD’s Board has approved the establishment of a Railway Development Directorate for the eastern part of Russia, responsible for coordinating the implementation of this project.
In accordance with the Russian Railways’ approved list of important measures for 2014, the work planned to be carried out is expected to cost around 61.4 billion rubles. Work has already started on 564 infrastructure facilities on the East Siberian, Trans-Baikal and Far East railways. Over the course of this year, two stretches of track between Lena and Hani, and two passing points on the Tynda-Ulak and Ulak-Novy Urgal railway lines are to go into service.
(Source: RZD)
