Baikal–Amur Mainline
The Baikal–Amur Mainline (Russian: Байкало-Амурская магистраль, БАМ, Baikalo-Amurskaya magistral', BAM) is a 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) broad-gauge railway line in Russia.The Soviet Union built the BAM as a strategic alternative route to the Trans–Siberian Railway, seen as vulnerable especially along the sections close to the border with China.Due to the severe terrain, weather, length and cost, Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev described BAM in 1974 as "the construction project of the century".At Tynda the route is crossed by the Amur–Yakutsk Mainline, which runs north to Neryungri and Tommot, with an extension to Nizhny Bestyakh opened in 2019.In addition, the route crosses 11 full-flowing rivers (including the Lena, Amur, Zeya, Vitim, Olyokma, Selemdzha and Bureya).In a confusing transfer of names, the label BAM applied from 1933 to 1935 to the project to double-track the Trans-Siberian east of Lake Baikal, constructed largely using forced labor.[12] When the Soviet Union was dissolved, numerous mining and industrial projects in the region were cancelled and the BAM was greatly underutilized until the late 1990s, running at a large operational deficit.Prior to this, the corresponding route segment was 54 km (34 mi) long, with heavy slopes necessitating the use of auxiliary bank engine locomotives.Plans exist for the development of mining areas such as Udokanskoye and Chineyskoye near Novaya Chara, as well as one of Eurasia's largest coal deposits at Elginskoye (Elga) in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia).Current economic conditions make the short-term completion of the tunnel doubtful, although Russian president Dmitry Medvedev announced in November 2008 his support for a revival of this project.In 2010, Yakunin had said, the stretch between Komsomolsk and Sovetskaya Gavan was the weakest link on the BAM, which, he said, could be carrying 100 million tons of freight a year in 2050.
Map of major railways in Russia, with
Trans-Siberian Railway
shown in red, the Baikal-Amur Mainline in green and the
Amur–Yakutsk Mainline
(including "Little BAM") shown in orange
3TE25K2MRussian RailwaysEastern SiberiaRussian Far EastTayshetSovetskaya GavanTrans-Siberian RailwayRegional railFreight railEast Siberian RailwayFar Eastern RailwayTrack gauge1,520 mmElectrificationoverhead linesBratskChuna RiverVikhorevkaAngara RiverBratsk ReservoirIlim RiverZheleznogorsk-IlimskyKhrebtovayaUst-IlimskKuta RiverYantalUst-KutLena RiverKirenga RiverIrkutsk OblastBuryatiaSeverobaykalskNizhneangarskUpper Angara RiverNovy UoyanSeveromuysky TunnelTaksimoVitim RiverZabaykalsky KraiChara RiverNovaya CharaSakha RepublicFar-East RailwayAmur OblastOlyokma RiverGilyuy RiverAmur–Yakutsk MainlineDipkunZeya RiverZeya reservoirSelemdzha RiverFevralskKhabarovsk KraiYakutsk TimeVladivostok TimeBureya RiverNovy UrgalChegdomynAmgun RiverKomsomolsk-on-AmurDzemgiKomsomolsk-SortirovochnyKomsomolsk–Dezhnyovka lineAmur riverSelikhinoSakhalin TunnelKamenny RucheyVaninoVanino–Kholmsk train ferrySakhalinRussianbroad-gaugerailwayRussiaSoviet UnionpermafrostLeonid Brezhnevpeat bogSeverobaikalskLake BaikalPacific OceanRussian gaugeNeryungriTommotNizhny BestyakhMoscowOlyokmaSelemdzhaBureyalabor-campBamlagIrkutsk RegionGeneral Secretary BrezhnevTenth Five Year Planprison laborKomsomolshock construction projectDmitry Filippovgolden spikebilliontrillionboomtownsghost townsSoviet Union was dissolvedRusso-Ukrainian WarSecurity Service of UkraineBering Straitbank engineUdokanskoyeEurasiaElginskoyeMechelElginskoye coal minebridge or tunnelStrait of TartarySakhalin Islandbridge or tunnel from Sakhalin to JapanJoseph StalinDmitry MedvedevKrasnoyarskM53 highwayBratsk DamMuya RiverBuryat Republichighway M56