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Baikal Amur Mainline

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	Topics Baikal Amur Mainline Topic Home History The route of the present-day BAM was first considered in the 1880s as an option for the eastern section of the Trans-Siberian railway. The section from TayshetFacts About Tayshet Tayshet is a town and a railroad junction in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia.... to BratskBratsk Summary Bratsk is a city in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Angara River near the vast Bratsk Reservoir.... was built in the 1930s. Most of the Far Eastern section was built during the years of 1944-1946, mainly by gulagGulag Gulag is an acronym for ??????? ?????????? ????????????????????? ??????? ? ???????, "Glavnoye... prisoners, including GermanGermany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in central Europe.... and JapanJapan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of China, Korea, and Russia, stretching from... ese prisoners of war, of whom possibly as many as 150,000 died. In 1953, following Stalin's death, virtually all construction work on the BAM stopped and the line was abandoned to the elements for more than twenty years. However, interest in the project never waned in part because of strained relations with ChinaSino-Soviet split The Sino-Soviet split was a major diplomatic conflict between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Social... —a Chinese attack on the border-tracing Trans-Siberian railway would have cut off transportation to the Russian far east. In March 1974, Soviet General SecretaryGeneral secretary The term General Secretary denotes a leader of various unions, parties or associations.... Leonid BrezhnevLeonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev ; – November 10, 1982) was the effective ruler of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982, though a... stated that a new BAM project would become a huge KomsomolKomsomol Komsomol is a syllabic abbreviation word, from the Russian Kommunisticheskiy Soyuz Molodiozhi, or "Co... undertaking. Brezhnev famously stated that "BAM will be constructed with clean hands only!" and firmly rejected the suggestion to use prison labor again. The Soviet UnionSoviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , more commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a Communist state that existed... described BAM as "the construction project of the century." In September 1984, a "golden spikeGolden spike The term "golden spike" generally refers to the last spike driven specifically to mark the completion of a railroad line.... ", akin to one used in UtahUtah Utah is a U.S. state located in the western United States.... in 1869, was hammered into place, connecting the eastern and western sections of the BAM. The Western media was not invited to attend this historic event as Soviet officials did not want any comments about the line's operational status and working conditions of the construction workers. In reality, only one third of the BAM's track was fully operational for civilians, due to military reasons. The BAM and its creators have been criticised for their bad planning. Infrastructure and basic services like running water were often not in place when workers arrived. The abuse of alcohol was extremely high and a lot workers left after a year, when their contracts expired. At least 60 boomtownBoomtown A boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth.... s developed around the route, but nowadays a lot of these places are deserted and unemployment in the area is high. The building of the BAM has also been criticised for its complete lack of environmental protection. BAM was again declared complete in 1991. By then, the total cost to build the line was US$United States dollar For details of current paper money and coins, see Federal Reserve Note and United States coinage.... 14 billion. A recent major improvement was the opening of the 15.343 km (9.534 mile) Severomuysky TunnelSeveromuysky Tunnel Severomuysky Tunnel is a railroad tunnel on the Baikal Amur Mainline, in northwestern Buryatia, Russia.... on December 5, 2003. It is up to 1.5 km (nearly 1 mile) deep. Construction took twenty-seven years to complete. Prior to this, the corresponding route segment was 54 km (34 miles) long, with heavy slopes necessitating the use of auxiliary locomotives. The railway now attracts thousands of Western railway enthusiasts each year. Route The BAM departs from the Trans-Siberian railway at TayshetFacts About Tayshet Tayshet is a town and a railroad junction in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia.... , then crosses the Angara River at BratskBratsk Bratsk is a city in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Angara River near the vast Bratsk Reservoir.... and the Lena RiverLena River The Lena in Siberia is the 10th longest river in the world and has the 9th largest watershed.... at Ust-KutUst-Kut Ust-Kut is a town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, situated on the river Lena.... , proceeds past Severobaikalsk at the northern tip of Lake BaikalFacts About Lake Baikal Lake Baikal is the deepest and oldest lake in the world.... , past TyndaTynda Tynda is a town in Amur Oblast, Russia, located on the Tynda River.... and KhaniKhani Khani may refer to:Khani, a settlement in the Sakha Republic, Russia... , crosses the Amur River at Komsomolsk-na-Amure and finally reaches the Pacific OceanPacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean* is the world's largest body of water. ... at Sovetskaya GavanSovetskaya Gavan Sovetskaya Gavan is a town in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, a port on the Strait of Tartary and the eastern terminus of the BAM r... . Of the whole route, the Tayshet-Taksimo sector of 1,469 km (913 miles) is electrified. There are 21 tunnels along the line, with a total length of 47 km (29 miles). There are also more than 4,200 bridges, with a total length of over 400 km (about 260 miles). Honors Main belt asteroid 2031 BAM2031 BAM 2031 BAM is a Main-belt Asteroid discovered on October 08, 1969 by Chernykh, L. at Nauchnyj.... , discovered in 1969 by SovietSoviet Union Overview The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , more commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a Communist state that existed... astronomer Lyudmila ChernykhLyudmila Chernykh Lyudmila Ivanovna Chernykh is a Russian astronomer.... , is named in honor of the builders of BAM.