Norilsk Railway
| Norilsk Railway | |
|---|---|
 "Mayak" mine near Talnach
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 Norilsk Railway (top right)
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| Route length: | approx. 100 km |
| Gauge : | 1520 mm, until 1953: 1000 mm |
| Power system : | 1957-1998: 3 kV = |
The Norilsk Railway ( Russian: Норильская железная дорога ) is one of the northernmost railways in the world. The railway line connects the port of Dudinka on the Yenisei with the city of Norilsk and the formerly independent city of Talnach as well as a number of mining companies.
history
As early as 1915, initial plans began to develop the ore deposits around Norilsk. By 1920 this project had gained in importance. In 1935 the project was resumed when the Arctic Circle Railway was being built. The order of the Council of People's Commissars of June 23, 1935 reads: "The final exploration of the route for the narrow-gauge railway Dudinka - Norilsk - Lake Pyassino (135 km) must be carried out and a project plan drawn up." A narrow-gauge railway was built in a track width of 1000 mm . In 1936 operations began at the small Valyok train station. The construction work and the railway operations were carried out by inmates of the NorilLag , a camp of the Gulag system.
Since the operation increased significantly, it was decided to convert the line to Russian broad gauge. After the first material was delivered in 1941, work began in 1950 and the gauging was completed in 1953. A temporary connection to the rest of the Russian railway network (via the Arctic Circle Railway ) never came about. In 1957 the lines were electrified.
The Norilsk Nickel company, which operates the railway today, stopped passenger transport in 1998 and gave up electrical operations again in the same year. The last passenger train connections were between Norilsk and Alykel Airport and from the airport to Dudinka.
According to the "Sapoljarnaja Pravda" (Заполярная правда) from July 28, 2007, the track length of the railway is 333 kilometers. In addition to 2,500 ore wagons, there are 88 locomotives from the ТЭМ2 , ТЭМ7А , 2ТЭ116 and ТЭМ18 series .
- Connection port Dudinka 69 ° 24 ′ 28.8 ″ N , 86 ° 9 ′ 31.3 ″ E
- Razrez loading station (?) 69 ° 22 ′ 29.4 ″ N , 87 ° 44 ′ 49.4 ″ E
- Connection to Norilsk Airport 69 ° 19 ′ 36.5 ″ N , 87 ° 20 ′ 38 ″ E
- Norilsk Railway Station 69 ° 21 ′ 24.8 ″ N , 88 ° 8 ′ 11.2 ″ E
- Bridge over the Norilka 69 ° 24 ′ 58.2 ″ N , 88 ° 17 ′ 55.1 ″ E
- Talnach train station 69 ° 28 ′ 59.7 ″ N , 88 ° 23 ′ 56 ″ E
Route network (2019)
The route network of the narrow-gauge railway in the 1940s is shown in red
Web links
- Норильская железная дорога - many pictures (russ.)
- Pictures and text at www.pereyezd.ru (russ.)
- "How old the locomotive is" from Polar Truth from August 3, 2012
Individual evidence
- ↑ Norilsk ITL. Memorial Germany e. V., accessed on February 21, 2020 .
Map with all coordinates: