Plans to Build a New Railway Line from Yakutia to Magadan

19 August 2021

A joint expedition will take place to survey a route for a new railway line connecting Nizhniy Bestyakh (Sakha – Yakutia) with the city of Magadan on the coast of Okhotsk Sea. The stages of project implementation were discussed by the heads of ministries and representatives of the railway industry at the meeting chaired by Andrei Tarasenko, Chairman of the Government of Yakutia, reported the press service of Yakutia government.

Experts will determine where to lay the railroad and in which settlements to build railway stations. Preliminary, the length of the railway from the operating line Berkakit – Tommot – Nizhniy Bestyakh to Magadan will be more than 1.8 thousand km.

“It will not be a part of BAM or TSR, but one more new railway line going to Pacific coast. This is a large logistics project. First, such a railway line will reduce the cost of delivering resources to the northern regions. We will no longer be dependent on river navigation and winter roads. Secondly, the railway will provide an opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses to develop and create additional jobs. This means more tax revenues to local and regional budgets,” said Mr. Tarasenko.

Maxim Lebedev, Deputy General Director of the Institute for Transport Economics and Development (JSC), noted that following the results of the expedition, the institute would prepare a preliminary investment feasibility study for the construction of the railway. The terrain specifics, presence of natural protected areas, length, presence of a sufficient cargo base and others are among the criteria for railroad construction  study.

The development of the railway infrastructure in the eastern part of Russia is a strategic goal, outlined by President Putin. As a whole, it is associated with the second stage of the expansion of the BAM and TSR, the major railroads in Russia. The construction of the new railway will also ensure the availability and development of industrial projects in the Far East and the Arctic zone.

Source: https://portnews.ru/news/317343/