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Expanding the BAM Railway: Ruslan Baisarov’s SK Most Group Is Completing Construction of the Second Baikal Tunnel

Monday, December 30, 2019 23:14

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Expanding the BAM Railway: Ruslan Baisarov’s SK Most Group Is Completing Construction of the Second Baikal Tunnel

Source: Undergroundexpert.info

Russia’s transportation system is going through some large-scale infrastructural transformations. First and foremost, this affects the railroad system, which ranks first in the country in terms of freight traffic volume. During the last few years, the task of strategic importance involves the modernization of the longest transport lines: the BAM and Trans-Siberian railway. Back in 2004, Russian Railways announced that they would particularly invest 30 billion rubles to expand the BAM. This strategic investment initiative is supposed to open the way for developing the rich natural resources of Siberia and the Far East, contribute to the economic development of these regions and expand trade between Europe and the Far East. One of the key projects of BAM expansion is the construction of the second Baikal tunnel, which reached its final stage this year. It should be open for traffic by the end of the year.

The decision to build a new Baikal tunnel was made in 2013, as the first Baikal tunnel, built as far back as in 1985 on the border between Irkutsk Oblast and Buryatia, is single-track and could barely cope with the increasing load, becoming a bottleneck that hampered the traffic throughout the entire line. The active phase of construction of the second tunnel began in 2016. Back then the project was implemented by SK Most Group of companies, owned by Ruslan Baisarov, a famous businessman rated by Forbes as one of the 200 richest businessmen in Russia. A few years ago, Baisarov increased his stake in SK Most Group of companies from 25 to 56% and became the chairman of the board of directors of JSC “USK Most”. Since then, he has been implementing a number of infrastructure projects of utter importance in the construction industry.

As Ruslan Baisarov said, the construction of the second Baikal tunnel “is implemented as a part of a special-focused program to modernize the railway infrastructure of the Baikal-Amur and Trans-Siberian railways in order to increase the transit and carrying capacity of existing routes.” He also noted that the number of freight trains traveling to the Far Eastern ports, Mongolia and China has increased, the Russian mining industry is growing rapidly and large deposits are being developed. In 2018 alone, Russian Railways recorded a 5% increase in operating freight turnover.

All these factors necessitate logistical improvements, which is impossible without expanding and updating rail lines. Moreover, this includes not only the BAM, but also the Trans-Siberian railway. The 15-km-long Severomuysky monotube bi-directional tunnel on the BAM also needs to be upgraded.

A Highly Complex Tunnel

According to experts, the new Baikal tunnel will double the capacity of the BAM, and the volume of cargo traffic will increase to 32 million metric tons of cargo per year, which is 250% of its current capacity.

The new tunnel is 6.7-km long, its excavation was completed by specialists from Baisarov’s company within five years. It’s a short time given the difficult terrain conditions under which the work was carried out. The tunnel runs through a zone of high seismic activity (8–9 on the Richter scale), creating many challenges for the engineers. It is worth noting that the second Baikal tunnel was built 35 meters to the left of the old tunnel.

The work was carried out using the Lovat tunnel-boring complex, which has an average speed of 12 meters per day. Specialists from Baisarov’s company had to perform blasting operations, and the rock fragments were carted away to designated areas.

More than 1,200 workers and over 100 pieces of construction and mining equipment were involved in the project. Excavation equipment was used for eastern and western drainage tunnels (1,700 and 1,500 m, respectively). Escape galleries 232 meters in length were also excavated. During the construction the tunnel’s ventilation shafts were repaired as well.

It should be mentioned that the construction of the BAM began in the 1970s, and this project has become a true masterpiece of engineering. The 3,220-km-long line passes over eleven major rivers and seven mountain ranges, connecting Lake Baikal in Siberia with Khabarovsk Krai on the shore of the Pacific Ocean. Climatic and geological conditions in the area of the line are complicated. In addition to seismic activity zones, part of the route runs through the permafrost regions and temperatures in winter fall to 60°C below zero.

Even at the starting point of the project, laying the railway track was considered an almost impossible task. And today, without any doubt, the new Baikal tunnel is one of the most complex structures of its kind in terms of tunneling conditions.

*** Since 2018, Ruslan Baisarov’s SK Most Group of Companies has been resizing the Sakhalin railroad gauge from 1,067 mm to the Russian standard of 1520 mm. This reconstruction will increase the volume of cargo transported to eight million tons.

Among other things, in December 2018, SK Most Group of companies completed the construction of the Sabetta sea port on the Russian Arctic coast, ensuring year-round passage for LNG carriers.

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