The Baikal-Amur Railway (BAM) is one of the largest railway lines in Russia and the world. It extends throughout Eastern Siberia and the Far East. The main path of BAM - Tayshet - Sovetskaya Gavan. Construction continued from 1938 to 1984. The most difficult part was the central part of the route, which was characterized by severe climatic and geological conditions. This plot was built for 12 years. And the construction of the most difficult section, the North Mui Tunnel, lasted until 2003.
The article answers the question, what is the composition of the Baikal-Amur Railway and the direction of cargo flows.
The workload of BAM is very high. Almost all available opportunities are used for the movement of trains. Currently, work is underway to increase its throughput. The annual volume of freight traffic is about 12 million tons.
The composition and direction of the cargo flows of the Baikal-Amur Railway 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 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 track.
The main terrain along which the paths pass is mountainous. BAM crosses 7 ranges, 10 tunnels and the Highlands. The highest altitude is at the Mururinsky Pass (1323 m above sea level). Here the railway runs at a significant angle upward, and the movement of trains requires increased traction, and the number of cars is limited.
Throughout the journey, the train crosses 11 rivers of significant size, 2, 230 bridges of various sizes, 200 railway stations and over sixty cities and other settlements.
Track Features
Between Tayshet and Ust-Kut, the railway 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 the diversity of conditions and composition of the Baikal-Amur Railway. 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 seaports, the 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 BAM first appeared. The need for such a path was explained by the desire to get full access to minerals in remote areas of Eastern Siberia and the Far East, to get an additional highway for travel in case of war with Japan.
In 1930, it was proposed to begin the development of the construction project and for the first time the name of the future highway appeared: the Baikal-Amur Railway.
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 at the connecting sections between the Trans-Siberian Railway and the future railway began. Then it was decided 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 war began in 1941, the constructed sections of the railway were dismantled and used in the construction of the railway along the Volga River.
In the years 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.
At the beginning of the 60s, there were already 1, 150 km of tracks laid, and in total 4, 000 km were required to be built.
In 1973, work began on the port of Vostochny, to which BAM was to approach.
In 1974, the construction process accelerated sharply. The new forces of the Komsomol detachments arrived.
In the 70s, the site disassembled in the early 40s was restored.
In 1976, thanks to BAM, coking coal production 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 over the Vitim River was built.
In 1988, the constant movement of trains along the entire highway was started.
In total, 2 million people took part in the construction.
The value of the Baikal-Amur Railway
The role of BAM in the Russian economy is very large. Thanks to it, it became possible to develop the inaccessible natural resources of Eastern Siberia and the Far East, and improved the development of the territory.
BAM has increased throughput for cargo flows going to Asian countries (China, Korea, Japan). Also, its construction stimulated the development of the economy of the Kuril and Sakhalin.
Every year, 8-12 million tons of cargo are transported by rail, and 8 trains pass through it per day. Gradually, the volume of freight traffic will increase.
