Baikal-Amur Mainline: composition and direction of cargo flows, construction progress

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

The Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) is one of the largest railway lines in Russia and the world. It extends across the territory of Eastern Siberia and the Far East. The main route of BAM - Taishet - Sovetskaya Gavan. Construction continued from 1938 to 1984. The most difficult was the central part of the route, which is characterized by harsh climatic and geological conditions. This site has been under construction for 12 years. And the construction of the most difficult section, the North Muya tunnel, continued until 2003.

The article provides an answer to the question of what is the composition of the Baikal-Amur Mainline and the direction of cargo flows.

The workload of BAM is very high. Almost all available opportunities for the movement of trains are used. Currently, work is underway to increase its throughput. The annual volume of cargo transportation is about 12 million tons.

The composition and direction of cargo flows of the Baikal-Amur Mainline are quite complex and are determined by the geographical features of the territory.

BAM Characteristics

The total length of the Baikal-Amur Railway is 3819 km. It is laid to the north of the Trans-Siberian Railway, departing from it in the city of Taishet. The line bypasses Lake Baikal from the north. There are branches from the route.

The main terrain along which the paths pass is mountainous. BAM crosses 7 ridges, 10 tunnels and the Stanovoye Upland. The highest height is at the Mururinsky pass (1323 m above sea level). Here the railroad tracks go up at a significant angle, and the movement of trains requires increased traction, and the number of cars is limited.

During the journey, the train crosses 11 significant rivers, 2230 bridges of various sizes, 200 railway stations and over sixty cities and other settlements.

Track Features

The railway between Taishet and Ust-Kut has 2 tracks and an air electrification system. Between Ust-Kut and Taksimo - 1 way and the same type of power supply. Further east, it is not electrified - diesel locomotives are used there. This indicates a variety of conditions and composition of the Baikal-Amur Mainline. Direction of cargo flows: from east to west and from west to east.

From the point of separation of the BAM and the Trans-Siberian Railway to the seaportsthe distance along the BAM is 500 km less than along the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Construction history

The process of creating such a gigantic object was phased and multidirectional.

In 1924, the idea of building the BAM appeared for the first time. The need for such a route was explained by the desire to gain full access to minerals in hard-to-reach areas of Eastern Siberia and the Far East, to get an additional highway for movement in the event of a war with Japan.

In 1930, it was proposed to start developing a construction project and for the first time the name of the future route appeared: the Baikal-Amur Mainline.

In 1933, the laying of the track began, the first rails were laid.

In 1937, construction took on a larger scale. The laying of tracks began on the connecting sections between the Trans-Siberian Railway and the future railway. At the same time, a decision was made to lay the BAM route from Taishet to the Northern Harbor.

In 1940, train traffic began on the section between Urgal and Izvestkova.

After the start of the war in 1941, the constructed sections of the railway were dismantled and used in the construction of the railway along the Volga River.

In 1943-1945. a railway was laid between Sovetskaya Gavan and Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

In the 50s, the Taishet-Lena section was built, and access to the natural resources of this region was obtained.

In the early 1960s, there were already 1,150 km of track laid, and a total of 4,000 km needed to be built.

BIn 1973, the work of the Vostochny port began, to which the BAM was supposed to approach.

In 1974, the construction process accelerated dramatically. New forces of Komsomol detachments were arriving.

In the 70s, the section that had been demolished in the early 40s was restored.

In 1976, thanks to BAM, coking coal mining was started in the south of Yakutia.

In the late 70s, the construction of the eastern section of the highway (Urgal - Komsomolsk-on-Amur) was completed.

In the early 80s, the most important and complex bridge across the Vitim River was built.

In 1988, the continuous movement of trains along the entire line was started.

In total, 2 million people took part in the construction.

Meaning of the Baikal-Amur Mainline

The role of BAM in the Russian economy is very high. Thanks to it, it became possible to develop the hard-to-reach natural resources of Eastern Siberia and the Far East, and improved the development of the territory.

BAM has increased the capacity for cargo flows going to Asian countries (China, Korea, Japan). Its construction also stimulated the development of the economy of the Kuriles and Sakhalin.

Each year, 8-12 million tons of cargo is transported by rail, and 8 trains pass through it per day. Gradually, the volume of cargo traffic will increase.

Conclusion

Thus, BAM is the most important railway line in the Russian Federation. The composition and direction of the cargo flows of the Baikal-Amur Mainline are very complex. The railway consists of different sections, including connecting ones.