OREANDA-NEWS. August 26, 2008. After the complete reconstruction, a ceremony of commissioning the Inya railway station was held on August 21, 2008. The station is a key link in the local network of railway stations of Belon Group in Kuzbass. The overall reconstruction of the Inya station will allow complete clearance of the increasing volumes of steam coal produced by Belon Group.

The reconstruction started three years ago, when Belon Group took a decision to support the Kuzbass Railway Development Programme for 2006–2008, which was approved by Aman Tuleyev, the Governor of the Kemerovo Region, and Vladimir Yakunin, the President of OAO Russian Railways.

The main goal of the reconstruction is to ensure stable offloading of the increased volumes of products from the mining and processing complex of the Listvyazhnaya mine and Listvyazhnaya coal preparation plant, the output of which in 2008 grew by a factor of 1.7. This year, the plant with a design capacity of 6 mln tons of coal per year is expected to process up to 5 mln tons of steam coal.
 
The reconstruction was carried out in two phases. The first phase started in June 2005, and was completed in December 2006. During this phase, four receiving-departure tracks were extended and levelled, the grade was reduced, and newer rails were laid on the roadway. Due to these measures, the volumes of coal transportation at the station increased considerably.

The second phase of the reconstruction started at the beginning of 2007. During this phase, three new tracks were laid, and the station was electrified and fitted with state-of-the-art communications facilities. In addition, the locomotive park was renovated, and all the operations conducted in cooperation with the Railways were automated, like provision of electronic railway bills and offloading requests, as well as tracking down railcars and their condition.

The station’s administrative building has been in fact completely rebuilt, and its equipment now complies with all modern day requirements. The employees’ workplaces have become more comfortable and functional.

After the reconstruction, the station has all the conditions to receive empty railcars for loading directly at the Inya railway station, without their processing at the terminal station, as well as to ensure sending the loaded heavy cargo trains to the general railway network directly from the Inya station. This will considerably accelerate the railcar turnaround on an access way, and will increase the operating capacity of the Meret trunk station.

Now the station is able to service up to 300 railcars per day, or about 7 mln tons of incoming and outgoing freight per year in both directions.

The investment in the station’s reconstruction amounted to RUB 400 mln.
Valentin Mazikin, the Vice-Governor of the Kemerovo Region, who spoke at the opening ceremony, stressed the special importance and the challenges of delivering coal to consumers, “Opening of the reconstructed Inya station is a significant step in this direction.”

Andrey Dobrov, the President of Belon Group, pointed out the importance of launching this facility for the Company, “Belon Group is permanently increasing the volumes of coal and coal concentrate production. In the framework of the Group’s development strategy for 2008, the volumes of coal production at the Company's mines and plants will reach 7.2 mln tons. By 2012, the total annual volume of coal production is expected to amount to 14 mln tons. Launch of the Inya railway station is a step towards the development of an integrated technological complex for coal production, preparation and, most importantly, guaranteed transportation of steam coal concentrate in this area, which, in its turn, will ensure long-term stability in the transportation of the products of our coal preparation plant.”

The Group’s nearest plans include commissioning of the Kostromovskaya railway station, which is being built to service the Kostromovskaya mine.