Russian Railways in the Far East

Russian Railways to Invest in the Far East

Vladimir Yakunin, CEO of Russian Railways, has anounced a plan to invest in the railway infrasturcture of the Russian Far East to sum of $18.7 billion.

The plan calls for the construction of a bridge to Sakhalin Island, modernization of the Baikal-Amur Mainline, reconstructing the Trans-Siberian Railway and connecting the Trans-Korean Mainline to the Russian railway network.

Adding a link to the Sakhalin Island is an important task, as well as updating one of the world most travelled railways, that of the Trans-Siberian. Apart from tourism, the route handles a lot of cargo. Currently the average speed on the Trans-Siberian is 40 km/h while it's competing Chinese counterpart the average speed is 100 km/h, allowing for more transportation.

In addition, the increased popularity of tourism to Russia's far east will also benefit from the investment in the infrastructure there.