Baikal Amur Mainline

Baikal Amur Mainline (BAM)
green: Baikal-Amur mainline orange: Amur-Yakut mainline red: Trans-Siberian railway blue: route of the Transsib west of Omsks used until 1930 black: southern variants of the Transsib-route
Route length:	3819 km
Gauge :	1520 mm ( Russian gauge )
Power system :	to Taksimo (1469 km): 25 kV / 50 Hz  ~
Legend Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow South Siberian Railway Irkutsk Oblast ( Moscow time + 5 h) 0 Taischet East Siberian Railway Trans-Siberian Railway to Irkutsk 30th Kostomarovo 117 Novochunka 124 Tschuna (single track bridge) 129 Sosnovye Rodniki ( Oktyabrsky ) 142 Tschuna ( Tschunski ) 269 Vichorevka 284 Morgudon Bratsk city center (Novobratsk, 20 km) 293 Ansjobi ( Bratsk ) Bratsk city center (Novobratsk, 17 km) 304 Galachinsky 326 Padunskije Porogi 329 Angara Dam crest Bratsker Reservoir , approx. 4.4 km 339 Gidrostroitel 403 Keschemskaya 461 Widim 533 Ilim ( Ust-Ilimsk reservoir ) 550 1. Korschunowski tunnel (single track), together 950 m 550 2. Korschunowski Tunnel (single track) 552 Korschunicha-Angarskaya ( Zheleznogorsk-Ilimsky ) 573 Khrebtovaya to Ust-Ilimsk (215 km) 652 Kuta 672 Jantal 720 Lena ( Ust-Kut ) 737 Lena 784 Swjosdnaja ( Swjosdny ) 889 Kirenga ( Magistralny ) 915 Kirenga 930 Ulkan 982 Kunerma 1010 Baikal or Daban tunnel (6686 m) ( Republic of Buryatia ) 1063 Severobaikalsk 1067 1. Baikal foothill tunnel (together approx. 4.5 km) 2. Baikal foothill tunnel 3. Baikal foothill tunnel 4. Baikal foothill tunnel 1090 Nizhneangarsk 1127 Kitschera 1235 Upper angara 1242 Novy Uoyan 1315 Kjuchelbekerskaja ( Jantschukan ) 1344 Angarakan Severomuisk tunnel bypass 1354 Severomuisk tunnel (15,343 m) Severomuisk tunnel bypass 1374 Kazankan 1385 Severomuisk 1469 Taksimo 1535 Witim ; Transbaikalia region ( Moscow time + 6 h) 1645 Kodar tunnel (1981 m) 1713 Tschara from Tschina (66 km, under construction) 1719 Novaya Tschara 1835 Sakha Republic (Yakutia) 1864 Chani Far East Railway 1866 Amur Oblast 1918 Oljokma 1922 Sakha Republic (Yakutia) 1927 Amur Oblast 2013 Juktali from Bamovskaya 2348 Tynda 2365 Giljui 2375 Bestushevo to Nizhny Bestjach 2409 Giljui 2409 Giljui Dipkun from Elga (approx. 300 km, under construction) 2677 Ulak 2687 Seja ( Seja Dam ) 2690 Verkhneseisk 2846 Tungala 3012 Selemdscha 3017 Fewralsk 3155 Khabarovsk region ( Moscow time + 7 h) 3292 Bureja from Iswestkowy ( Transsib , 326 km) 3298 Novy Urgal 3312 Urgal -I to Tschegdomyn (16 km) 3382 Dusse-Alin-Tunnel (approx. 1800 m) Amgun Amgun Amgun 3615 Postyshevo ( Berjosowy ) 3621 Amgun from Komsomolsk and Dzyomgi 3819 0 Komsomolsk-Sortirovochny to Khabarovsk (351 km) Amur 19 0 Piwan 28 Gaiter 41 Kartel ( Bolshaya Kartel ) 52 Selichin ( Selichino ) to Sakhalin 63 Eldigan 82 Poni 95 Kun ( Sneschny ) 112 Gurskoye 139 Uctur Gur Gur 160 Kenai 182 Oune Kuznetsovsky tunnel 220 Vysokogornaya ( Vysokogorny ) 240 Datta 261 Kenada 274 Dschigdassi 303 Tulutschi 318 Akur 340 Tumnin Chutu 366 Chutu 376 Imbo 380 Ust-Orotschi ( Uska-Orotschskaja ) 399 Mongochto 403 Landyschi 413 Djuanka 424 Toki 434 Vanino to Sakhalin 442 Sovetskaya Gawan-Sortirovochnaja ( Oktyabrsky ) 458 Desna ( Maiski ) 468 Sovetskaya Gavan -Gorod

The Baikal-Amur Mainline (abbreviated BAM , Russian Байка́ло-Аму́рская магистра́ль / БАМ ) is a railway line that branches off from the Trans-Siberian Railway in the East Siberian city of Tayshet and ends in the city of Sovetskaya Gawan . After preliminary work, construction began in 1974. In 1984 the two ends of the line, driven by east and west, were connected. Continuous operation began in 1989.

Geographical location

The BAM runs north and roughly parallel to the Trans-Siberian Railway (Transsib). The middle sections of the BAM are about 400 to 500 km further north than the Transsib. About 1,800 kilometers of the main line are in Eastern Siberia , the remaining 2,480 kilometers run through the Far East . The BAM crosses several rivers that are among the longest rivers in Russia, including a. the Angara , the Lena and the Amur . 20 kilometers of the route run directly on the shore of Lake Baikal . The main line leads through several high mountain systems, such as the Stanowoi highlands or the Sichote-Alin . The Stanovoi highlands are passed through the Severomuisk tunnel - the longest railway tunnel in Russia.

history

First plans and start of construction

Soviet medal for the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline

The first plans to develop the Baikal - Amur area with traffic engineering were already drafted at the beginning of the 19th century, among others by the Decembrists , who were exiled to Siberia . After initial research and planning in the 1920s and 1930s, the official building decision was made in April 1932 and construction work began. During the construction, prisoners were used on a large scale in forced labor . For this purpose, a special Gulag subdivision, the BAMLag, with its main base and administrative headquarters in Svobodny on the Transsib, was set up. The first section was opened in 1937 on the 20th anniversary of the October Revolution . During the Second World War , the construction work was interrupted, some parts of the line were even dismantled because rails and sleepers for the construction of the railway line ( Kazan - Ulyanovsk -) Saratov - Stalingrad - also called Volga Rochade - to supply the Red Army in the Battle of Stalingrad were urgently needed.

The section from Komsomolsk to Sovetskaya Gawan was completed on July 20, 1945 and immediately used as far as Port Vanino to transport the invasion troops for the occupation of Sakhalin . Japanese prisoners of war were soon used to build further routes. After the war, construction continued to a lesser extent. After Stalin's death in 1953, work came to a complete standstill. The completed easternmost section from Komsomolsk to the northwest was only used as a connecting railway to transport wood.

Major Soviet project

Wichorewka railway station (kilometer 269)

Fevralsk train station (kilometer 3017)

At the beginning of the 1970s, construction was resumed, which was lavishly accompanied by propaganda . The project was supported by the other Comecon countries, in particular through the delivery of material and equipment. In 1974, as part of the so-called Delta Project , the Soviet Union ordered around 9,500 heavy construction trucks from Magirus-Deutz from the Federal Republic of Germany , which were particularly suitable for use in Siberia due to their air-cooled engines. On September 26, 1975, the 1,437 m long Amur Bridge 16 km south of Komsomolsk, the longest of the approximately 3,000 bridges on the route today, could be used for the first time. The construction of the line was driven forward from both the west and the east. The date of completion and "birthday" of the BAM 27 October 1984 applies where the last one, the "Golden track panel " at Balbuchta (kilometer 1,602) was transferred between the two track ends.

The BAM has been continuously passable since 1989, but the Severomuisk tunnel , which was not yet completed at that time, had to be bypassed first via a 61-kilometer bypass. The tunnel was only inaugurated for regular operation at the end of 2003 and, at 15,343 meters, is the longest tunnel in Russia.

crisis

Since the mid-1980s, the BAM project has been viewed increasingly critically. The building was justified both militarily and economically. Since, with the crisis and the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union, large previously planned mining and industrial projects in the BAM catchment area were no longer being built, the route was only lightly traveled, especially until the end of the 1990s, it worked in deficit and was generally viewed as a bad investment. Even today, passenger traffic hardly generates any sales, as most of the area passed through is very sparsely populated. Only one long-distance train runs daily between Tynda and Komsomolsk am Amur. In 1996 the independent railway administration of the Baikal-Amur-Magistrale was dissolved. The western section to about Chani (mostly on the territories of the Irkutsk Oblast , the Republic of Buryatia and the Transbaikalia Region ) came to the East Siberian Railway , the rest (on the territory of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) , the Amur Oblast and the Khabarovsk region ) to Far Eastern Railway . A route closure was also considered.

Todays situation

However, with the raw material boom in recent years and the upswing of the Russian economy, transport services grew. It began to implement plans from the 1970s, e.g. B. to develop the ore deposits Udokan and Tschina near Novaya Tschara and one of the largest coal deposits in Eurasia, Elga, with reserves of 2.1 billion tons in southeast sacha (Yakutia).

route

Main line

The connections established before 1974 are also included in the BAM:

• in the west between Ust-Kut and Taischet on the Transsib,
• in the east between Komsomolsk on the Amur and the Pacific near Sovetskaya Gawan .

The line is about 4,280 kilometers long and was mostly built on a single track. The two-track sections were subsequently expanded

• Taischet– Lena Bridge near Ust-Kut (length 787 kilometers) and
• some smaller sections:
  • Block posts kilometers 1084- Nizhneangarsk (six kilometers)
  • Kasankan - Severomuysk (11 km)
  • Ikabjakan - Mururin (24 kilometers, since 2013),
  • Mururin - Chani (54 kilometers) and
  • Tynda - Bestuschewo (26 kilometers).

There is also a freight bypass route at Novy Urgal . The superstructure of the entire route is prepared for a double-track expansion. The western section Taischet - Taksimo (1469 kilometers) is electrified .

Branches and connections

At Tynda , the BAM is crossed by the Amur-Yakut Magistrale (AJAM), which runs from the Transsib (Bamovskaya station, route kilometer 7273) over the mining area around Neryungri to the north in the direction of Yakutsk , but temporarily ends at Tommot am Aldan . Between Tynda and Bestuschewo, both routes have a common section. The original section of the Amur-Yakut main line from Bamovskaya to Neryungri is also known as the "Little BAM".

In connection with the raw material boom, several branch lines starting at BAM were built and others started. The construction of the 320-kilometer branch line from Ulak station, west of the Seja crossing in the northwest of Amur Oblast , to Elga was discontinued in 2002 due to financial problems after the laying of around 60 kilometers of track. In October 2007, the Russian mining company Mechel bought the coal deposit and the unfinished railway line for 2.3 billion US dollars. The Japanese Sumitomo Group will also invest in the project. On February 15, 2008, the construction of the line was resumed, in which Mechel invested 1 billion dollars. The completion and start of coal production was initially targeted for 2010, but was delayed due to renewed financing problems. The route is complex as the Stanowoi Mountains , which are around 2000 meters high , have to be crossed. 194 bridges are to be built.

business

Because of the difficult terrain (and partly also outdated technology), multiple traction is used, especially in freight traffic .

meaning

The construction of the BAM not only meant a new connection, but also the demographic and economic development of a previously almost undeveloped region. It should not only improve the economic connection between the east and the west of the country, but also international economic relations, especially with Japan . In addition to the railway line, a large amount of other infrastructure had to be built, such as settlements, energy systems and roads. Among other things, the BAM was built for strategic military reasons because the eastern section of the Transsib runs near the Chinese border, which was viewed as a potential hazard.

Planning

The BAM is to be established as an alternative route to the Transsib for container transport from the Pacific region and East Asia to Europe and vice versa. However, the predominant single track and the lack of connections at the eastern end of the line stand in the way. The extension of the route to Sakhalin (bridge or tunnel) or even to Japan has been considered over and over again, which - at least at the moment - does not pay off economically. For example, work on the construction of a tunnel to Sakhalin and connecting routes , which had already begun under Stalin, has now been stopped (around 2003). The related change of gauge from the previously narrow-gauge ( 1067 mm ) lines on Sakhalin to Russian broad-gauge will be continued step by step.

literature

in alphabetical order by authors / editors

• Johannes Grützmacher: The Baikal-Amur-Magistrale. From the Stalinist camp to the mobilization project under Brežnev = systems of order. Studies on the history of ideas in modern times 38. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 2012. ISBN 978-3-486-70494-5
• Olivier Rolin : Baikal-Amur - a travelogue . Translated from the French by Holger Fock and Sabine Müller, Liebeskind Verlag, 2018, 190 pages. ISBN 978-3-95438-093-0 .
• Andreas Röhr: The Bajkal-Amur Mainline. History of a Siberian space development project . Logos, Berlin 2012. ISBN 978-3-8325-3192-8 .
• Peter Schille, photos Wilfried Bauer: BAM: Departure to Eastern Siberia . In: Geo-Magazin 6/1976, pp. 26–54.
• Athol Yates, Nicholas Zvegintzov: Siberian BAM Guide . 2nd Edition. Trailblazer, Hindhead 2001. ISBN 1-873756-18-6

Web links

Commons : Baikal Amur Main Line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: Baikal-Amur-Magistrale  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

• Search for Baikal-Amur-Magistrale in the German Digital Library
• Search for Baikal-Amur-Magistrale in the SPK digital portal of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation
• BAM private homepage (English)
• A travel report from 1995
• TV report on ARTE ( Memento from February 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive )

Remarks

1. ↑ The Korschunicha tunnel is an exception .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Sumitomo set to develop coal deposit in Yakutia at RIA Novosti , November 22, 2007
2. ↑ Put k 2.1 mlrd tonn near Gudok , February 22, 2008 (Russian, The way to the 2.1 billion tons )
3. ↑ Review