Baikal–Amur Mainline

Baikal–Amur Mainline
RZD 3TE25K2M hauling freight at the Baikal–Amur Mainline
Overview
Native nameБайкало-Амурская магистраль
StatusOperational
OwnerRussian Railways
Locale
Termini
Continues fromTrans-Siberian Railway
Service
Type
System
Operator(s)Russian Railways
Technical
Line length4,324 km (2,687 mi)
Number of tracks2–1
Track gauge1,520 mm (4 ft 11+2732 in) Russian gauge
Electrification25kV 50Hz AC overhead lines
Route map

Legend
km
0
Tayshet
293
Anzyobi
10
Akulshet
Tayshet diversion line to Yurty
30
Kostomarovo
48
Toporok
57
Nevelskaya
97
Parchum
to Lesosibirsk via Kodinsk
117
Novochunka
124
129
Sosnovye Rodniki
(Oktyabrsky)
142
Chuna
(Chunsky)
154
Izykan
167
Targiz
177
Chuksha
191
Keshevo
210
Toreya
226
Ognevka
246
Turma
259
Balaga
269
Vikhorevka
284
Morgudon
to Bratsk city centre
293
Anzyobi
to Bratsk city centre
304
Galachinsky
310
Bratskoye More
326
Padunskoye Porogi
328
Energetik
329
Bratsk Reservoir wall (4.4 km)
339
Gidrostroytel
369
Zyaba
378
Pashenny
403
Kezhemskaya
416
Mamyr
436
Rechushka
461
Vidim
480
Sokhaty
502
Chornaya
523
Seleznyovo
533
Ilim River (Ust-Ilimsk Reservoir)
535
Sredneilimskaya
541
Zhelezny
550
Korshunovsky-Tunnel (1.1 km)
552
Korshunikha-Angarskaya
(Zheleznogorsk-Ilimsky)
562
Sibirishnaya
573
Khrebtovaya
589
Karstovaya
611
Semigorsk
620
Merelotnaya
646
Kaymonovo
652
661
Rychey
672
Yantal
685
Kuta
713
Ust-Kut
720
Lena
730
Yakurim
734
Lena-Vostochnaya
to Lensk
737
739
Predlensky
759
Chudnichny
769
Kalpshny
784
Zvyozdnaya
805
Irdykan
823
Niya
853
Nebel
867
Marikta
874
Ukhanga
889
Kirenga
(Magistralny)
908
Okunaysky
915
930
Ulkan
948
Umbella
960
Kalakachan
982
Kunerma
997
Delbichinda
1,010
Baikal (Daban) tunnel (6,686 m)
Irkutsk Oblast
Buryatia
1,014
Daban
1,028
Goudzhekit
1,043
Tyya
1,063
Severobaykalsk
1,067
4 tunnels (4.5 km total)
1,090
Nizhneangarsk
1,105
Kholodnaya
1,127
Kichera
1,164
Kiron
1,182
Angoya
1,193
Ogdynda
1,210
Ogney
1,228
Anamakit
1,235
1,242
Novy Uoyan
1,249
Bakany
1,277
Yanchuy
1,296
Churo
1,315
Kyukhelbekerskaya
(Yanchikan)
1,330
Kovokta
1,344
Angarakan
Severomuysky Tunnel bypass
1,354
Severomuysky Tunnel bypass
1,370
Okusikan
1,374
Kasankan
(Severomuysk)
1,385
Severomuysk
1,397
Arkum
1,414
Ulgi
1,460
Muyakan
1,469
Taksimo
1
↓planned electrification
1,492
Lodya
1,508
Aku
1,533
Shivery
1,535
1,543
Koyra
1,561
Kuanda
1,584
Taku
1,602
Balbukhta
1,617
Syulban
1,637
Naledny
1,645
Kodar tunnel (1,981 m)
1,650
Kodar
1,668
Leprindo
1,679
Sallikit
1,713
to Chineyskoye mines
1,719
Novaya Chara
1,740
Kemen
1,757
Ikabya
1,770
Olongo
1,835
1,864
Khani
1,866
Olyokma
Tas-Yuryakh
1,918
1,922
1,927
2,013
Yuktali
2,033
Taluma
2,058
Dyugabul
2,121
Chilchi
2,171
Lopcha
2,186
Elgakan
2,216
Larba
2,241
Lumbir
2,268
Khorogochi
2,309
Kuvykta
Trans-Siberian Railway
to Bamovskaya
2,348
Tynda
2,369
Shakhtaum
2,365
2,375
Bestuzhevo
2,409
2,436
Marevaya
2,494
Unakha
2,511
Dipkun
2,560
Tutaul
to Elginskoye
(under construction)
2,687
2,690
Verkhnezeysk
2,706
Apetenok
2,734
Izhak
2,757
Ulyanovsky Stroitel
2,779
Ogoron
2,803
Moldavsky
2,833
Miroshnichenko
2,846
Tungala
2,865
Kamnega
2,894
Dugda
2,919
Nora
2,940
Meun
2,957
Drogoshevsk
2,983
Skalisty
3,000
Chervinka
1
3,012
3,017
Fevralsk
2
3,035
Zvonkoye
3,060
Demchenko
3,082
Isakan
3,101
Isa
3,129
Mustakh
3,149
Ulma
3,155
3,162
Etyrken
3,195
Shugara
3,247
Alonka
3,292
Trans-Siberian Railway
to Isvestkovy
3,298
Novy Urgal
3,312
Urgal-I
3,324
Chemchuko
3,339
Mugule
3,365
Soloni
3,384
Dusse-Alin
3,382
Dusse-Alin Tunnel (1.8 km)
3,402
Suluk
3,422
Mogdy
3,434
Orokot
3,456
Gerbi
3,481
Ukraltu
3,494
Badzhal
Amgun River (3 bridges)
3,513
Dzhamku
3,525
Sektali
3,542
Eanga
3,562
Amgun
3,579
Sonakh
3,595
Ebgun
3,615
Postyshevo
(Beryosovy)
Komsomolsk-on-Amur diversion line
to Chumikan & Magadan
3,621
3,638
Bolen
3,659
Moni
3,679
Evoron
3,702
Kharpichan
3,715
Gorin
3,740
Mavrinsky
3,750
Khurmuli
3,775
Lian
3,789
Khalgaso
3,799
Silinka
2
3,819
0
Komsomolsk-Sortirovochny
3
0
Pivan
28
Gayter
41
Kartel
52
Selikhino
to Sakhalin via Sakhalin Tunnel
63
Eldigan
82
Poni
95
Kun
112
Gurskoye
139
Uktur
160
Kenay
182
Oune
Kuznetsovsky tunnel (3,996 m)
220
Vysokogornaya
240
Datta
261
Kenada
274
Dzhigdasi
to De-Kastri & Sakhalin
303
Tuluchi
318
Akur
340
Tumnin
3
366
Khutu
376
Imbo
to Khabarovsk & Nakhodka
380
Ust-Orochi
399
Kamenny Ruchey
403
Landyshi
424
Toki
434
Vanino
442
Sovetskaya Gavan-
Sortirovochny
458
Desna
468
Sovetskaya Gavan
km
Key
existing
Electrification
0
planned
phase number

The Baikal–Amur Mainline (Russian: Байкало-Амурская магистраль, БАМ, Baikalo-Amurskaya magistral', BAM) is a 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+2732 in) broad-gauge railway line in Russia. Traversing Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East, the 4,324 km (2,687 mi)-long BAM runs about 610 to 770 km (380 to 480 miles) north of and parallel to the Trans-Siberian Railway.

The Soviet Union built the BAM as a strategic alternative route to the Trans–Siberian Railway, seen as vulnerable especially along the sections close to the border with China. The BAM's costs were estimated[by whom?] at $14 billion, and it was built with special, durable tracks since much of it ran over permafrost. Due to the severe terrain, weather, length and cost, Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev described BAM in 1974 as "the construction project of the century".

If the permafrost layer that supports the BAM railway line were to melt, the railway would collapse and sink into peat bog layers that cannot bear its weight. In 2016 and 2018 there were reports about climate change and damage to buildings and infrastructure as a result of thawing permafrost.

Route

Map of major railways in Russia, with Trans-Siberian Railway shown in red, the Baikal-Amur Mainline in green and the Amur–Yakutsk Mainline (including "Little BAM") shown in orange

The BAM departs from the Trans-Siberian railway at Tayshet, then crosses the Angara River at Bratsk and the Lena River at Ust-Kut, proceeds past Severobaikalsk at the northern tip of Lake Baikal, past Tynda and Khani, crosses the Amur River at Komsomolsk-on-Amur and finally reaches the Pacific Ocean at Sovetskaya Gavan. There are 21 tunnels along the line, with a total length of 47 km (29 mi). There are also more than 4,200 bridges, with a total length of over 400 kilometres (250 mi).

Of the whole route, only the western Tayshet-Taksimo sector of 1,469 km (913 mi) is electrified. The route is largely single-track, although the reservation is wide enough for double-tracking for its full length, in the case of eventual duplication. The unusual thing about the railway is that it is electrified with a 27.5 kV, 50 Hz catenary minimum height at 6.5 metres (21 ft 4 in) above top of the rails to suit double-stacking under the overhead wires on the Russian gauge tracks, which requires rolling stock to be modified for service on the railway.

At Tynda the route is crossed by the Amur–Yakutsk Mainline, which runs north to Neryungri and Tommot, with an extension to Nizhniy Bestyakh opened in 2019. The original section of the AYaM connecting the Trans-Siberian at Bamovskaya with the BAM at Tynda is also referred to as the "Little BAM".

During the winter the passenger trains go from Moscow past Tayshet and Tynda to Neryungri and Tommot and there are also a daily trains from Tynda to Komsomolsk-on-Amur and from Komsomolsk-on-Amur to Sovetskaya Gavan on the Pacific Ocean via Vanino ("Vladivostok-Sovetskaya Gavan" train No.351Э). Travel time from Tayshet to Tynda is 48 hours. Travel time from Tynda to Komsomolsk-on-Amur is 36 hours. Travel time from Komsomolsk-on-Amur to Sovetskaya Gavan is 13 hours.

There are ten tunnels along the BAM railway, totaling 30 kilometres (19 miles) of route. They include:

  • Baikalsky tunnel 6,685 metres (4.154 mi)
  • Severomuysky Tunnel 15,343 metres (9.534 mi)
  • Kodar Tunnell 1,981 metres (1.231 mi)
  • Dusse Alin Tunnel 1,852 metres (1.151 mi)
  • Korshunovsky tunnel 950 metres (3,120 ft)

These are among the longest tunnels in Russia.

In addition, the route crosses 11 full-flowing rivers (including the Lena, Amur, Zeya, Vitim, Olyokma, Selemdzha and Bureya). In total, 2230 large and small bridges were built on it.

History

Early plans and start of construction

The route of the present-day BAM first came under consideration in the 1880s as an option for the eastern section of the planned Trans-Siberian railway.

In the 1930s labor-camp inmates, in particular from the Bamlag camp of the Gulag system, built the section from Tayshet to Bratsk. In a confusing transfer of names, the label BAM applied from 1933 to 1935 to the project to double-track the Trans-Siberian east of Lake Baikal, constructed largely using forced labor.

Nineteen forty-five saw the finalisation of plans for upgrading the BAM for diesel or electric instead of steam traction, and for the heavier axle-loads of eight-axle oil tankers to carry new-found oil from Western Siberia. The upgrading required 25 years and 3,000 surveyors and designers, although much of the redesign work (particularly as regards the central section) took place between 1967 and 1974.

Construction project of the century

A rally in Ust-Ilimsk, Irkutsk Region, on the occasion of the arrival of a building team for construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway. 1979.

In March 1974, Soviet General Secretary Brezhnev proposed that the BAM would be one of the two major projects in the Tenth Five Year Plan (1976–80). He famously stated that "BAM will be constructed with clean hands only!" and firmly rejected the suggestion to again use prison labor. A few weeks later he challenged the Young Communist League (Komsomol) to join in "the construction project of the century". 17th Komsomol congress (held in April 1974) announced BAM a Komsomol shock construction project, created the central Komsomol headquarters of BAM construction, and appointed Dmitry Filippov the chief of the headquarters.

By the end of 1974 perhaps 50,000 young people of the 156,000 young people who applied had moved to the BAM service area. In 1975 and 1976, 28 new settlements were inaugurated and 70 new bridges, including the Amur and Lena bridges, were erected. And while 110 miles (180 km) of track was laid, the track-laying rate would have needed to nearly triple to meet the 1983 deadline.

In September 1984, a "golden spike" was hammered into place, connecting the eastern and western sections of the BAM. The Western media was not invited to attend this historic event as Soviet officials did not want any comments about the line's operational status. In reality, only one third of the BAM's track was fully operational for civilians, due to military reasons.

The BAM was again declared complete in 1991. By then, the total cost to build the line was US$14 billion (RU₽106 trillion).

Crisis

Beginning in the mid-1980s, the BAM project attracted increasing criticism for having been poorly planned. Infrastructure and basic services like running water were often not in place when workers arrived. At least 60 boomtowns developed along the route, but today many of these places are deserted ghost towns and unemployment in the area is high. The building of the BAM has also been criticised for its complete lack of environmental protection.

When the Soviet Union was dissolved, numerous mining and industrial projects in the region were cancelled and the BAM was greatly underutilized until the late 1990s, running at a large operational deficit.[citation needed]

In 1996, the BAM as a single operational body was dissolved, with the western section from Tayshet to Khani becoming the East Siberian Railway, the rest transferred to the management of the Far Eastern Railway.[citation needed]

During the Russo-Ukrainian War, on November 30 2023, an explosion occurred in the Severomuysky Tunnel. A second explosion happened soon thereafter, on the bypass used as backup for the tunnel. The Security Service of Ukraine claiming responsibility for the explosions.

Current situation and future prospects

A major improvement was the opening of the 15.34-kilometre (9.53 mi) Severomuysky Tunnel on 5 December 2003. It is up to 1.5 kilometres (nearly 1 mile) deep. Construction took 27 years to complete. Prior to this, the corresponding route segment was 54 km (34 mi) long, with heavy slopes necessitating the use of auxiliary bank engine locomotives.

With the resources boom of recent years and improving economic conditions in Russia, use of the line is increasing. Plans exist for the development of mining areas such as Udokanskoye and Chineyskoye near Novaya Chara, as well as one of Eurasia's largest coal deposits at Elginskoye (Elga) in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia). In connection with this, a number of branch lines have been built or are under construction.

In January 2012 the Russian mining company Mechel completed the construction of the 320-kilometre-long branch line to Elginskoye, branching from the BAM station Ulak, west of the Zeya River crossing in northwestern Amur Oblast. The branch line connects the Elginskoye coal mine to the Russian railroad network.

Currently under discussion is the construction of a bridge or tunnel under the Strait of Tartary to Sakhalin Island, with the possibility of the further construction of a bridge or tunnel from Sakhalin to Japan. A tunnel from the mainland to Sakhalin was previously begun under Joseph Stalin, but was abandoned after his death. A second attempt in 2003 was also postponed during construction. Current economic conditions make the short-term completion of the tunnel doubtful, although Russian president Dmitry Medvedev announced in November 2008 his support for a revival of this project.

The BAM now also attracts the interest of Western railway enthusiasts, with some tourist activity on the line.

Also, the BAM itself extension from Komsomolsk-on-Amur to Magadan (Okhotsk coastal route), full length electrification, full length track doubling, and double-stacking under the overhead wires on the Russian gauge tracks (with well cars to make 6.15m height) are proposed.

Tayshet diversion line
(Tayshet bypass)
Severo-Sibirskaya Mainline Lena-Kamchatka Mainline

Along the BAM

Major stations of the BAM
Tynda, the "capital" of BAM

Tayshet to Lake Baikal 1,064 kilometres (661 mi):

0,000 Tayshet: about 300 kilometres (190 miles) east of Krasnoyarsk, Trans-Siberian Railway, M53 highway to Irkutsk
0,129 Sosnovye Rodniki: timber port; Chuna River
0,142 Chuna
0,269 Vikhorevka: railway administration
0,282 Anzebi: 20-kilometre (12 mi) spur line to Bratsk
0,330 Railway runs across the top of the Bratsk Dam
0,463 Vidim
0,546 Sredneilimskaya on the Ust-Ilimsk reservoir
0,554 Zheleznogorsk-Ilimsky: mining town
0,575 Khrebetovaya: branch line north to Ust-Ilimsk (see branches below); enters Lena basin; Kuta River
0,715 Ust-Kut: port on the Lena River where goods are loaded onto boats for transport north; end of the line until 1974
0,736 Lena Vostochnaya: east of the Lena, start of the BAM proper from 1974; route turns east southeast
0,786 Zvyozdnaya: first new town built on the BAM
0,890 Kirenga: 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) east is the larger town of Magistralnyy; Kirenga River and bridge
0,931 Ul'kan: on the Ulkan branch of the Kirenga
1,005 Delbichenda: last stop before the 6.7-kilometre (4.2 mi) Baikal Mountain Tunnel (between 1979 and 1984 there was a 15-kilometre (9.3 mi) bypass over the mountain)
1,014 Daben
1,064 Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal to Tynda 1,300 kilometres (810 mi):

1,064 Severobaykalsk; four small tunnels along the lake
1,104 Nizhneangarsk; leave Lake Baikal, northeast along the Upper Angara River

valley

1,257 Novy Uoyan: there is talk of building a railroad south from here to the Trans-Siberian; enters Severomuysk Mountains; much permafrost from here to Tynda
1,385–1,400 Severomuysky Tunnel: 15.7 kilometres (9.8 mi) long, very difficult construction; leaves mountain; scenic section with mountains to north and south; much fog
1,484 Taksimo: end of electrified section; Muya River
1,548 Shivery: leaves Buryat Republic; Vitim River
1,577 Kuanda: official 'completion' of the BAM was celebrated here in September 1984; valley into mountains
1,664 Kodar: Kodar mountains, 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) tunnel
1,734 Novaya Chara
1,879 Khani: the only BAM town in the Sakha Republic; northernmost point on the line; route turns south-southeast along the Olyokma River; enters Amur basin

Tynda to Komsomolsk 1,473 kilometres (915 mi):

2,364 Tynda: Branch railway and highway M56 north to Yakutsk; little BAM south to the Trans-Siberian
2,704 Bridge over Zeya Reservoir; route heads southeast
3,205 Bureya River bridge
3,315 Novy Urgal: Branch south to Trans-Siberian
3,403 east to Dusse-Alin Tunnel; northeast up the Amgun River
3,633 Postyshevo: east
3,697 Evoron Lake; southeast to km 3,837: Komsomolsk-on-Amur

Komsomolsk to Sovetskaya Gavan 486 kilometres (302 mi):

This section was completed by prisoners during World War II, except for the 19-kilometre (12 mi) section east of Komsomolsk which was completed in 1974.

3,819 Komsomolsk; 1,734-metre (5,689 ft) Amur River Bridge
000 Pivan (new zero point)
051 Selikhin: Branch
095–340 Sikhote Alin Mountains
403 Mongokhto
441 Vanino: port, train ferry to Sakhalin Island, practical end of passenger service
467 Sovetskaya Gavan: naval base

In April 2008 the state-owned Bamtonnelstroy corporation started work on the new 3.91-kilometre (2.43 mi) single-track Kuznetsovsky Tunnel to bypass an older tunnel built in 1943–1945. It was opened in December 2012. The old tunnel had difficult gradients; building the new tunnel relieved a bottleneck on the BAM. The 59.8 bn roubles (about $1.93 bn) project included 20 kilometres (12 mi) of new track. In 2010, Yakunin had said, the stretch between Komsomolsk and Sovetskaya Gavan was the weakest link on the BAM, which, he said, could be carrying 100 million tons of freight a year in 2050.

Branches

  • 575: Khrebtovaya to Ust-Ilimsk, 214 kilometres (133 mi): opened in 1970, it runs northeast to serve the Ust-Ilimsk Dam.
  • 1,257: Novy Uoyan: possible start of line south on east side to Lake Baikal.
  • 2,364: Tynda to the Trans-Siberian at Bamovskaya, 180 kilometres (110 mi) (the 'Little BAM'): this branch was built by prisoners in 1933–37, torn up in 1942 and its rails shipped to the front and rebuilt in 1972–75.
  • 2,364: Tynda to Yakutsk: see Amur–Yakutsk Mainline.
  • 3,315: Novy Urgal to the Trans-Siberian at Izvestovskaya, 328 kilometres (204 mi): in the Bureya River basin, it was built mostly by Japanese POWs. There is a 32 kilometres (20 mi) branch north from Novy Urgal to the Chegdomyn coal fields.
  • 3,837: Komsomolsk south to Khabarovsk, 374 kilometres (232 mi); on east side (flood plain) of the Amur. 99 kilometres (62 mi) south: Lake Bolon.
  • 51 (line km restart at Komsomolsk): Selikhin to Cherny Mys, 122 kilometres (76 mi): north along the Amur. Built 1950–53, it was planned to extend this to a tunnel to Sakhalin Island. There is talk of restarting it.

The BAM road

Running approximately alongside the railway track is the BAM road, a railway service track. It is said to be in a very poor state, with collapsed bridges, dangerous river crossings, severe potholes and "unrelenting energy-sapping bogs". The narrow, dilapidated Vitim River Bridge (aka Kuandinsky Bridge) that crosses the Vitim river has attracted attention since its first appearance on social media in 2009. The passage of the bridge is forbidden since 2016 but remains a common road for individuals to reach the town of Koanda.

The road is passable only by the most extreme off-road vehicles and adventure motorcycles. In 2009, a group of three experienced motorcycle riders took a whole month to travel from Komsomolsk (in the east) to Lake Baikal.

Honors

Main belt asteroid 2031 BAM, discovered in 1969 by Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Chernykh, is named in honor of the builders of the BAM.

Gallery


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