The Trans-Siberian Railway: development prospects, significance. Ways to improve work efficiency

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 20:55

Laid in the last century, the Trans-Siberian Railway passes through our entire country and connects its European part with Siberia and the Far East. This well-equipped railroad has been the main railway branch of Russia for a quarter of a century.

Start of construction

The decision to build the Siberian railway at the expense of the treasury was taken by the tsarist government back in the 80s of the XIX century. In 1887, three expeditions were organized to find places for laying a route under the South Ussuri, West Baikal and Central Siberian highways. The construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway began in the 90s of the century before last. The decision to carry out work on the construction of the Great Siberian Route was made in the winter of 1891. Construction began on two sides - from Vladivostok to Chelyabinsk.

Main laying steps

The Trans-Siberian Railway was being built, the development prospects of whichcurrently wide, in several stages:

1. 1893 - laying the road from the Ob to Irkutsk.

2. 1894 - construction of the Northern Ussuri road began.
3. 1897 - the beginning of the laying of the CER.
4. 1898 - a section from the Ob to Krasnoyarsk was accepted.
5. 1900 - a decision was made to build the Circum-Baikal Railway.
6. 1906 - surveys were carried out for the laying of the Amur Mainline.
7. 1911 - laying the section Kerk - r. Storm with a branch on Blagoveshchensk.
8. 1916 - commissioning of the bridge across the Amur.

The long length of the Trans-Siberian Railway already in those years allowed it to become the main transport artery of the country. But during the Civil War, the condition of the new road, unfortunately, deteriorated significantly. Many bridges were blown up and burned. Wagons and steam locomotives were also periodically destroyed. Immediately after the end of the war, however, large-scale restoration work began. During the winter of 1924-1925, for example, the Amur Bridge was restored. Traffic on the highway began in 1925 and continues uninterruptedly to this day.

The Trans-Siberian Railway in our time

The history of the Trans-Siberian Railway is full of various achievements. During the years of Soviet power, the road was actively developed and was considered an All-Russian construction site. To date, the Trans-Siberian Railway is one of the most powerfuloverland railways of the world. In Russia, it transports more than 50% of all transit and export cargo. The Trans-Siberian is an electrified double-track line, fully equipped with modern means of communication and information. The technical equipment of the highway allows transporting more than 100 million tons of cargo per year with a maximum allowable speed of 90 km/h.

The advantages of the line, among other things, include the absence of the need to cross any state borders. Unfortunately, the capacity of the road has recently begun to decline. And this indicates the need for its modernization.

Characteristics of the Trans-Siberian Railway: length of tracks, capacity

The total length of the Trans-Siberian Railway is about 10 thousand km. It is currently the longest highway in the world. Throughout its length there are 87 cities, 14 of which are regional centers.

80% of the state's industrial enterprises and main natural resources are concentrated in the regions served by the road. About 30 routes of freight trains of international and domestic traffic have been laid through Transassib. On a high-speed passenger train, the journey along this road, which is a continuation of the European railway network, from Moscow to Vladivostok is 6 days.

The Trans-Siberian Railway passes, the development prospects of which are closely related to the overall growth of the country's economic potential, through the territory of two continents: Europe (19.1% of the way)and Asia (80.9%). There are 1852 stations along its entire length.

Natural conditions of the Trans-Siberian Railway and related problems

The paths of this road were laid in all climatic zones: steppes, forest-steppe desert, taiga. In the northern regions, the highway partially runs in the permafrost zone (for example, near Lake Baikal). The problems in connection with this railway workers have to solve the following:

• risk of rockslides and earthquakes in mountainous areas;
• the need for constant maintenance of tracks during temperature changes in areas with a sharply continental climate;
• the need to maintain a large number of bridges;
• constant balancing of tracks in the permafrost zone;
• prepare for spring floods.

Thus, the natural conditions of the Trans-Siberian Railway can be considered very difficult. Russian Railways has to spend quite a lot of money to overcome the effects of various adverse environmental factors.

Prospects for development

To date, most of the goods from the east of the country to the west are transported by sea. Water transport companies feel like monopolists, and therefore, often unjustifiably, inflate prices for their services. As a result, many shippers see the Trans-Siberian Railway as a viable alternative to shipping.

In this regardThe government of the Russian Federation, together with the leadership of Russian Railways, has developed a whole range of measures aimed at increasing the transit potential of such a significant route as the Trans-Siberian Railway. The prospects for its development are determined primarily by the adopted concept for the development of railway lines in Russia until 2030. Until 2015 alone, about 50 million rubles were spent on the modernization of the road. Until 2030, it is planned to create the best conditions for the movement of special container and passenger trains on the Trans-Siberian Railway. In addition, the Russian Railways Coordinating Council has developed a road transport concept for the period up to 2020, which includes:

• development of competitive tariffs;
• further improvement of transportation organization;
• improving the quality of service;
• development of technologies that inform customers about the location and status of cargo in real time;
• improving the performance of ports in the west and east of the country;
• creation of modern logistics complexes, etc.

Development in 2016

The general characteristics of the Trans-Siberian Railway allows us to judge it as the most promising railway in our country today. At the beginning of 2016, a set of measures has already been implemented aimed at electrifying the lines of the highway, reconstructing bridges, tunnels and large stations. Special attentionis given to the development of the corridors Primorye-1 and Primorye-2, as well as the organization of direct communication between Korea and the Russian Federation.

Ways to improve work efficiency

The long length of the Trans-Siberian Railway, unfortunately, does not mean its good capacity. The crisis had a negative impact on all spheres of the country's economy without exception, including railway communications. Therefore, in terms of organizational issues, the emphasis at the moment is on increasing the throughput capacity of the highway. At the same time, activities are carried out primarily aimed at:

• to eliminate the problem of untimely cleaning of private cars from public tracks;
• attracting private investment in the development of highway infrastructure;
• efficient combination of each mode of transport involved in the transportation.

Thus, the main railway, on which great hopes are placed in the conditions of the global market in our country, is the Trans-Siberian Railway. The prospects for its development as the main alternative to maritime transport are currently unusually wide. At the same time, the tasks of reducing the time of movement of goods and improving the quality of service for passengers and shippers are considered top-priority.