North Siberian Railway

• RUSSIAN RAILWAY

Chronicle

2024: Russia returned to the project of the North Siberian Railway

At the end of August 2024, it became known that Russia had returned to the project to create the North Siberian Railway. This route will unload the overcrowded Omsk junction, creating a freight backup of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and will also provide an opportunity to direct trains bypassing Kazakhstan.

The history of the North Siberian Highway dates back several decades. Initially, the Federal Program for the Development of the Lower Angara Region in the Krasnoyarsk Territory was developed and submitted for consideration by the Government of the Russian Federation. The project included several development routines, including the creation of transport infrastructure, involving the construction of the named railway. Several route options are being considered, including Kurgan - Ishim - Tara - Kolpashevo. If a branch is created, trains will be able to move, bypassing the territory of Kazakhstan, which accounts for the Isilkul - Gorbunovo segment. The neighboring state receives money for renting the line, but finding part of the railway outside the Russian borders theoretically carries certain risks.

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Freepik

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the Government of the Russian Federation together with the Government of the Kemerovo Region, the federal state budgetary institution "Russian Academy of Sciences" and Russian Railways to consider the construction of the North Siberian Railway. And in 2024, the media reported on the start of work on the project.

According to TASS, referring to the RAS assessment, the cost of building the North Siberian Railway could be up to 8 trillion rubles. Thus, part of the route will cost 691 million rubles per 1 km of the route, while the cost of construction on the mountainous section of the track will increase to 3 billion rubles per 1 km.^[1]

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