Future Planning
Planning for the line almost as far as Yakutsk is complete, although there has been debate as to whether the line should end at the settlement of Nizhny Bestyakh, on the opposite bank of the Lena River from Yakutsk, or whether a bridge (or possibly tunnel) should be built. The decision for or against a river crossing depends on a number of questions regarding both costs and engineering challenges. The Lena is at this point more than 2 kilometers wide, has a number of side streams, and can flood the valley to a width of up to 10 kilometers during the snowmelt in spring.
A combined road and rail bridge is under consideration, across a narrower section of the river near Tabaga, 40 km upstream from the Yakutsk.
On July 14, 2010, in Moscow, a meeting was held to discuss construction of a tunnel under the Lena river, instead of a bridge. Construction of a tunnel would be quicker and cost less than that of a bridge, as it would not be dependent on seasonal construction hampered by the river freezing over in autumn and breaking up in spring. The flooding situation of the river also makes the tunnel more attractive. However, the annual maintenance costs for a tunnel were estimated to be more than twice that of a bridge. Construction of a tunnel in permafrost also posed engineering challenges.
There is currently no bridge of any kind across the Lena in the Sakha Republic. Air travel is currently the only mode of transport to Yakutsk available year-round; land transport to the outside world is possible via ferry in summer, or by driving across the frozen river in winter. During spring and autumn, the moving ice on the river makes crossings impossible. The dual road-rail bridge would allow year-round land access to the city for the first time.
Future plans have been proposed for the extension of the rail line further to the east, towards the Kolyma region, Magadan and even Chukotka and a Bering Strait crossing which would link Russia with the United States. The Russian government in 2011 approved the construction of a US$ 65 billion Siberia-Alaska rail link and a tunnel across the Bering Strait.
Plans were announced in May 2012 by the governor of Magadan Oblast to extend the railway 1800km eastwards of Yakutsk to Moma by 2016.
Read more about this topic: Amur Yakutsk Mainline
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