Published on : Monday, March 12, 2018
Russian Railways has finished the construction of the Baikal rail tunnel with a length of 6.7 km, which will help to easy communicate Irkutsk Region and Buryatia. It is one of the most important projects under Baikal-Amur Mainline and the Trans-Siberian Railway modernisation programme.
The construction works on the new railway tunnel began in October 2014 and will be put into commercial operation in 2019 allowing a significantly increase in freight transport services from 13 million to 32.5 million tonnes per year.
Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia said that this railway project will increase the freight traffic capacity.
Also this railway project will also help in transportation. The modernisation plan for the two Russia’s most important railway lines started in 2013 and, when it will be completed, the freight traffic will increase from 67 million tonnes to 125 million tonnes per year.
Last year, the Presidency asked Moscow government to assign USD 1.7 billion for the modernisation of Baikal-Amur and Trans-Siberian railway lines, as the financial allocation between 2017 and 2018 had a value of USD 2.6 billion, of which, National Wealth Fund provided USD 1.76 billion and USD 880 million were covered by other sources.
In between 2019 and 2023, the Russian Ministry of Transport and Russian Railways will allot USD 8.8 billion.
Tags: Baikal rail tunnel, Baikal-Amur and Trans-Siberian, President of Russia, Russian Railways, Trans-Siberian Railway modernisation programme