The railways of Yakutia are in fact one railway line. But it is extremely important for the region. Its other name is the Amur-Yakutsk railway. There are other definitions as well. The same phrase is also used to refer to JSC AK "Railways of Yakutia", which was created to manage the construction and operation of this highway. The opening date of this department is October 2, 1995. In the future, the number of railways in the region may increase, which will make this republic the largest Russian region with a developed railway connection.
Yakutsk railway
The idea of building the world's longest railway line, which would link Russia with the US and Canada, has been discussed for a long time. The biggest technical problem on the way to their implementation is the narrow water isthmus separating Chukotka from Alaska. There are also difficulties such asnatural and climatic conditions, low population density, high capital costs and others. Political tensions between Russia and America are also hindering the implementation of this grandiose project. However, the first section of a possible new route is being built based on the internal interests of our country. It was named the Amur-Yakutsk Railway.
Highway features
At the moment, the main goal of laying the railway is to improve transport links between Yakutia and Siberia. The new line connects the Trans-Siberian Railway with the Baikal-Amur Mainline and then goes north to Yakutia (the Lena River basin). The relief is quite complex, mountainous, the conditions are harsh, permafrost is all around. The northern part of the route was recently under construction. Now passenger transportation is carried out to the Tommot station, which is located on the banks of the river. Aldan in South Yakutia. The final planned station in Yakutsk is 450 km away. Most of this section is already being transported by freight.
The railway has been under construction since 1985 and has the abbreviation AYAM. Officially, it is called the Berkakit-Tommot-Yakutsk railway line. Its total length is 900 km. Also, AYAM is understood as the entire railway route from the city of Amur to Yakutsk.
History of the railway and future plans
Talking about the need to build a railway line to Yakutia has been going on since the 50s of the twentieth century, and the construction itself was started1972-05-05 First, a section was opened that connected the two largest railway lines in Russia: BAM and Transsib. Further north, the railway began to be built since 1985. Dmitry Medvedev visited the construction site in 2012.
In the second half of 2019, it is planned to launch the Berkakit-Nizhny Bestyakh section, which was previously supposed to open by the end of 2017. In this case, there will be very little left to Yakutsk. According to other sources, the railway service is already operating there.
There were also plans to build a railway line from Nizhny Bestyakh to Magadan, which will probably be completed before 2030. If they are implemented, this will be the second step towards the implementation of the project (still hypothetical) to establish a regular overland transport link between Russia and America.
The Amur-Yakutsk Highway is the largest project of the last three decades and will solve the problem of delivering goods to the capital of Yakutia, as well as improve the overall transport situation in the country.
Natural conditions
The Amur-Yakutsk railway looks like a single-track non-electrified rail line lost in the mountain taiga. Perhaps due to this, the construction project is considered not the most expensive per 1 kilometer of the way. The climate in this region is very severe. Here is one of the highest climatic loads in the country associated with extreme continentality (up to 100 degrees of annual temperature range and large daily differences), winter frostssometimes below -50 °C, the presence of permafrost, forcing certain areas to freeze in summer. At the same time, the construction did not cause any noticeable harm to the environment, which is clearly visible in the photo.
The benefits of the railway
In addition to delivering goods and passengers to Yakutia, the new railway line will contribute to the development of these harsh regions. Various minerals have been discovered in Yakutia, primarily coal, oil and gas (the basis of the Russian economy). The living conditions of people in Yakutia will improve. Timely delivery of goods will reduce the risk of shortages of goods, fuel and products in an extremely cold winter. This transport artery will have a positive impact on the development of the economy of the Far East, especially after the construction of the next section to Magadan, where various minerals have also been discovered.
The most significant year for the region turned out to be 2014, when the already built section made it possible to switch from unstable and expensive river transport to cheaper rail transport. This made it possible to increase the reliability of delivering fuel and food to people.
Possible cons
Possible negative consequences of the construction of the highway are the risk of increased deforestation, an increase in the number of human-related fires and more active export of resources (including forests) to China. Of course, they are incomparable with positive effects, but they also cannot be ignored. After all, already now cutting down and fireslead to shallowing of the largest Siberian river Lena. At the same time, the presence of a railway line can speed up the delivery of extinguishing equipment.
Conclusion
Thus, JSC "Railways of Yakutia" is a transport organization that ensures the operation of railway transportation in the harsh conditions of this republic. Now there is only one railway line, the construction of which has not yet been completed. In the future, it is planned to continue construction in the direction of Magadan, which will significantly increase the length of the railways of the Far East. All these projects are of great economic importance both for the region and for the whole country. Construction costs are not too high, and environmental compliance is high, despite the difficult conditions at the installation sites.
