The Northern Railway has been operating for 150 years - a unique line that starts in the center of Russia and stretches for 8638 km to the Far North and the Arctic Circle, crosses the Urals, goes from the European part of the country to the Asian one.
This is one of the 16 Russian Railways routes.
How it all began
The first document marking the emergence of the Northern Railway was the Highest Order of the Emperor of Russia, which approved the charter of the Moscow-Yaroslavl Railway Society.
He was headed by Professor F. Chizhov, who attracted Moscow merchants. 15,000 silver rubles were collected, and construction began immediately.
Unofficially, the first section is considered to be the route put into operation in 1862. It connected Moscow and Sergiev Posad. A dozen steam locomotives ran along this 65 verst railway, pulling over a hundred freight and passenger cars, as well as 15 luggage cars.
The importance and necessity of the road was obvious, so the decision was made to expand it. From September 1868, regular traffic began along the Shuysko-Ivanovskaya railway line, where 14 steam locomotives ran,carrying 170 goods and 28 passenger cars.
In a short period of time (1870-1872) the joint-stock company, headed by the well-known businessman and philanthropist S. Mamontov, is laying other lines:
- from Aleksandrov to Vologda via Yaroslavl;
- from Rybinsk to Sonkovo;
- from Ivanovo to Kineshma.
Volga trade cities get direct access to St. Petersburg and Moscow. S. Mamontov, creating highways, also built station buildings in the same style. For this, architects L. Kekushev and I. Ivanov-Shits were invited, thanks to their efforts, beautiful, stuccoed stations on the Vologda-Arkhangelsk line appear.
In 1900 the road passes to the state.
Active construction continues, paths are being laid to Kostroma, Arkhangelsk, Vologda, which is gradually turning from a backwater into an important transport hub connecting the two capitals of the empire.
In 1907, the main line between Moscow, Yaroslavl and Arkhangelsk (more than 2 thousand miles long) received the official name - the Northern Railway.
In 1911, the transition to broad gauge begins.
The highway of the beginning of the 20th century
The Northern Railway, whose history is closely intertwined with the history of the country, knew the times of prosperity and decline.
After the revolution, during subbotniks, 226 steam locomotives were repaired in 1919 alone.
In 1923, during the inventory of property, it turned out that 44% of the structures of the SZD were worn out. The re-equipment and electrification of the railway service begins.
Already in 1924the first section was electrified: a suburban route from Moscow to Pushkino.
The trend of that time did not bypass the SZD: in 1935, for the first time, a rally of shock workers-Stakhanovites was held. They sought to save fuel, work without accidents, increase speeds.
Northern Railway during the war years
By the beginning of the war, SZD transported 85% of all cargo in the country. On June 22, 1941, the heads of all stations of the Northern Railway, as well as other highways, received an order to delay trains heading to Germany and facilitate the transportation of troops and equipment.
In an effort to help the front, the railway workers held subbotniks, mastered related speci alties, repaired locomotives on their own, fulfilled the norms by 200-300%. Many went to the front as volunteers. The depot organized the production of anti-tank barriers, armored trains, bakery trains and bathhouses.
Despite the war, the Northern Railway was built and developed. In 1941, in 3 weeks, tracks were built that connected the Oktyabrskaya and Northern highways in the Kabozh region. In 1942, 367 km of the North Pechora line, necessary for the delivery of coal, was completed. The road in wartime was built according to simplified schemes, sleepers were sometimes laid on ice and frozen ground. When laying the tracks, the labor of camp prisoners was used.
In total, during the years of the war, the Northern Road was extended by 1600 km, firmly connecting the mines of Vorkuta with the center. The speed with which the North Pechora Mainline was built was incredible: 1.9 km were created per day.
Thanks to SZD duringduring the war, fuel, food, equipment, and coal were delivered to the front from Siberia and the Urals. Thousands of evacuated people, factory equipment, libraries, museum exhibits were transported in the opposite direction to safe areas.
Post-war years
Despite all the efforts of the railroad, the line suffered heavy losses during the war years. In total, about 16 thousand trains were lost, thousands of kilometers of tracks were destroyed. For the employees of the Northern Railway, the main thing was to restore them, as well as increase the capacity, eliminate dependence on snowfalls, which paralyzed traffic in winter.
In 1953 the Yaroslavl and Vologda railways were merged into the Northern railway, in 1959 the Pechora railway was attached to it. The development of the Northern Railway revived the Far North, rich raw material areas became available:
- Ukhtinsky, where oil was processed;
- Vorkuta, famous for coal mining;
- Syktyvkar – timber processing.
By 1965, almost half of the tracks had already been converted to electric and diesel traction.
In the 70s, new roads were built connecting Arkhangelsk, Karpogory and Palenga, Yadrikha and Veliky Ustyug, Sosnogorsk and Pechorsk, Mikun and Vendiga. An automated system was introduced that allowed the smooth control of the movement of many trains, semaphores were replaced with traffic lights.
In the 80s there is an installation of automatic control jobs. In 1984, the first train of 24 cars was sent to Moscow.
Plans to lay another 2,000 kilometers of tracksSZD.
The uniqueness of the highway
The significance of the SZD can hardly be overestimated: it connected the industrial regions of the country with raw materials, contributed to the construction of new cities, factories, promoted the development of trade.
The Northern Railway connects the cities of Syktyvkar, Vorkuta, Yaroslavl, Ivanovo, Arkhangelsk. The development of the Far North without this highway would hardly have been possible. Today, the SZD ensures the delivery of cargo to the Plesetsk cosmodrome, to the port of Arkhangelsk, supplies gas and oil workers working in Yamal with the necessary supplies.
SZD activities provide work for about 10 thousand small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as such industrial giants as Severstal, Vorkutaugol, Slavneft, etc.
Road structure
As a division of Russian Railways, the Northern Railway connects:
- 7 regions of central Russia - Yaroslavl, Ivanovo, Vologda, Vladimir, Arkhangelsk, Kostroma, Kirov;
- Komi Republic;
- Yamal.
35% of the length of the highway passes through the Central region of Russia and 65% through the North-West.
The most important freight stations of the SZD are Vorkuta, Cherepovets, Inta, Novoyaroslavskaya.
There are marshalling yards on the highway, among them Solvychegodsk, Yaroslavl-Glavny, Losta.
Geography: cities and stations
The structure of the road is determined by its geographical location. SZD includes the following lines:
- Moscow - Arkhangelskvia Alexandrov (1040 km);
- Pecherskaya, which includes the direction Konosha - Vorkuta through Kotlas, as well as the branches Chum - Labytnangi, Troitsko-Pechorsk - Sosnogorsk, Syktyvkar - Yertom, its length is 1562 km.
Latitudinal lines of the Northern Railway:
- Obozerskaya – Malenga;
- St. Petersburg - Yekaterinburg via Cherepovets, Vologda, Svecha, Kirov.
Intra-district road lines and access roads of industrial enterprises with a length of almost 5 thousand km are no less significant, as they increase the level of maneuverability and economic efficiency of transportation logistics. These are highways such as:
- Bologoe - Ermolino;
- Kineshma - Belkovo via Ivanovo;
- Buoy - Danilov;
- Novki - Sonkovo via Ivanovo, Nerekhta, Yaroslavl and Rybinsk;
- Nerekhta - Galich via Kostroma.
Traffic statistics
The turnover of the Northern Railway is about 4.5% of the total volume of goods transported by Russian Railways. It carries out small transit and large local transportation in the region. In 2016, 246.3 million tons of cargo were transported.
Thanks to the railway, mined useful minerals are exported:
- coal from Vorkuta, Inta, Mulda, which is almost 4% of all produced in Russia;
- mineral building materials;
- oil from Ukhta;
- wood from the stations of the Arkhangelsk direction, this is 1/4 of the country's entire timber production;
- ferrous metals.
SZD trains import building materials and bread into the region.
Coal, firewood, building materials are in the lead among local transportations.
Specialists note that the traffic density of the Northern Railway is on average higher than throughout the Russian Railways network.
The leaders in terms of freight turnover are such stations of the Northern Railway as:
- Arkhangelsk;
- Vorkuta;
- Privolzhie;
- Yaroslavl-Pristan;
- Hanovei;
- Rybinsk-Tovarny;
- Cherepovets.
Passenger transport
Although the Northern Railway serves a small number of passengers (compared to Russian Railways), in numbers it looks impressive - 10.7 million people used this railway in 2016.
Passenger economy includes:
- 52 long-distance trains of the Northern Railway, i.e. almost 2 thousand cars;
- 223 commuter trains;
- 9 branded trains.
SZD serves about 100 thousand passengers daily.
Most of the traffic is commuter, about 70% or 8.1 million people, according to 2016 data. Highway Moscow - Yekaterinburg, taking into account Yaroslavl, is the most popular direction.
Management
As a branch of Russian Railways, the Northern Railway has its central office address in Yaroslavl, on Volzhskaya Embankment, 59.
In the structure of its 5 branches, which are located in the following cities and towns:
- Arkhangelsk, pl. October 60th Anniversary, 4;
- Vologda, st. Mira,39;
- Solvychegodsk, st. Ulyanova, 21;
- Sosnogorsk, st. Oplesnina, 1;
- Yaroslavl, st. Freedom, 72.
Nearly 46,000 employees work in various departments of the SZD. The management of the Northern Railway is carried out by its head, at the moment the post is occupied by Tanaev V. F.
Interaction with other modes of transport
River transportation has long played a big role in the Far North, so many railway stations cooperate with shipping companies:
- Pechorsky (railway station Abez, Kozhva and Sosnogorsk);
- Northern (Sheksna station);
- Volzhsky (transshipment stations Kostroma, Rybinsk, Yaroslavl, Kineshma).
SZD connects seaports, primarily Arkhangelsk, Mezen, Onega and Naryan-Mar, with all regions of Russia.
Federal highways carry out the final delivery of goods from railway stations to consumers.
