OREANDA-NEWS. On July 11, 2009 in Tynda, there was a celebration to mark the 35th anniversary of the start of construction work on the Baikal-Amur railway line, reported the press-centre of RZD.

Russian Railways (RZD) CEO Vladimir Yakunin took part in the event. The other guests included representatives of the Russian government, RZD’s Management Board, regions of the Russian Federation and the private sector, veterans and railway workers.

"The Baikal Amur line is one of those landmark projects in our post-war history that played a defining role in the country’s development and became a symbol of its times. There is and can be no doubt that building the line was absolutely the right thing to do, even despite all the twists and turns of fate. BAM has reinforced our country’s influence in the Far East" said Vladimir Yakunin.

"BAM today is a colossal opportunity to revive that enormous and very wealthy region through new jobs, higher living standards and new points of economic development", continued Yakunin. "But this prospect will only be achievable if the line is radically modernized and renovated and solutions are found to a huge range of issues. Both RZD and the government are committed to taking on this tough challenge."

"BAM today is a living working system. And it’s not acceptable to say that the line is unprofitable as some sections are operating at over 80% of capacity. BAM will play an important role in the economic development of Russia", stressed Yakunin.

On 11th June a round table entitled "BAM – A New Lease of Life in the 21st Century" was held in Tynda, during which an action plan for the line’s future development was presented.

"The line is now entering a more positive phase, in which it is in demand and needed by the entire country. Let me demonstrate this by some figures that speak for themselves: 15 years ago, BAM’s annual freight turnover was 44.8 billion tons/km and was on a falling trend, but in 2008, the line handled 64.4 bn tkm – an increase of 50%", said Yakunin as he opened the conference.

Yakunin believes that the Baikal Amur line will be a powerful tool in the future development of Siberia and the Far East and the creation of new economic growth points in Russia.

RZD estimates that by 2020 freight shipments along BAM will increase to 220 bn tkm, or 3.4 times the volume handled in 2008.

This growth in freight and passenger turnover is being driven by positive trends in the region’s socio-economic development: Russia’s dynamically developing foreign trade links require appropriate action to boost the current throughput capacity of certain sections of the BAM line and to fill in the missing links in the existing infrastructure.

The increasing volume of transit container traffic along the Trans-Siberian line is also forcing a change in BAM’s role and specialization. In future it will become the main route for bulk cargo shipments that have previously used the Trans-Siberian line.

To handle future freight volumes on the Baikal Amur line a number of infrastructure improvement measures need to be taken, including renovation of sidings, laying of parallel main line, upgrading of automatic block systems, development of stations and completion of reconstruction work on some bridges and tunnels.

"The total investment required to upgrade and develop the line under RZD’s Rail Transport Development Plan to 2020 is around 400 billion roubles, announced RZD Vice President Boris Lapidus.

"It will not be possible to fund this work out of RZD’s investment budget alone. The company thinks a separate long-term federal programme for the development of BAM to 2020 is required, or alternatively a dedicated project should be incorporated in the current federal programme. This programme should provide government support for the BAM upgrade, setting out both the size and mechanisms of such support", said Lapidus.

He added that the private sector will also play an active role in the construction of new infrastructure by funding connecting lines to mineral deposits.

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The Baikal Amur line is one of the world’s longest railway lines. It passes through Irkutsk, Chita and Amur regions, Buryatia, Yakutia and Khabarovsk, and provides Russia with a second direct access route to the Pacific Ocean after the Trans-Siberian line.

Being the shortest railway route to the Pacific Ocean ports, southern Yakutia and other regions of Russia, BAM cuts the distance travelled by passengers and freight to Primorie Territory, Vladivostok and Nakhodka by more than 200 km, to Vanino by almost 500 km, to Yakutia by 600 km and to Sakhalin, Kamchatka and Magadan by 1000 km.

Annual freight volumes along the Taishet – Tynda – Komsomolsk route are currently around 12 mln tons.

According to the Russian railway sector development strategy to 2030 BAM can expect a 2- or 3-fold increase in freight volumes, driven by growth in industrial output, the laying of a railway line to Yakutsk, mineral resource developments and expansion of the Vanino - Sovetskaya Gavan transport hub.

In the longer term, Strategy 2030 sees BAM specializing in heavy freight trains, while the Trans-Siberian line will be used for specialized container trains and passenger transport.