All roads in Russia pass by Ukraine. Zhuravka and Zaitsevka

The military personnel of the railway troops are actively building a railway bypassing Ukraine. The fact is that 30 km of the road leading to the southern regions of Russia pass through the restless Luhansk region. In order not to endanger the lives of passengers, it was decided to build a bypass.

AiF.ru correspondent visited the Russian border village of Chertkovo and found out why the locals are not enthusiastic about the large-scale construction that has begun and why the new road will significantly worsen their well-being.

Now trains traveling through the territory of the Russian Federation to the south of the country have to cross the territory of Ukraine in the region of the Voronezh and Rostov regions in a section 26 kilometers long.

reference

The construction of a railway bypass will allow trains from Moscow to Adler to follow to the south of Russia without crossing the territory of Ukraine.

This section of the railway was built during the Soviet era, when the borders between the Union republics existed exclusively on the atlas.

After the collapse of the USSR, according to an interstate agreement, transit passengers should not go through border inspection - Russian trains follow the territory of a neighboring state without stopping.

In the event of a traffic stop along the Moscow-Adler highway, the only possible detour route lies through Volgograd. In this case, the travel time for trains traveling from Moscow to the south will increase by 12 hours. Therefore, it is necessary to build a new branch.

The construction of the Zhuravka-Millerovo bypass railway will be completed in 2018. In the future, Russian Railways plans to make a high-speed road to get from Moscow to the Black Sea resorts in 15 hours.

The locals will go into isolation.

Residents of two districts of the Rostov region and the adjacent Lugansk region of Ukraine will remain cut off from the Rostov-Moscow railway. Three years later, trains will run on a changed route, bypassing Chertkovo, bypassing Ukraine.

The Russians and their Ukrainian neighbors are already counting losses due to the loss of Chertkovo's status as a passenger station.

Vasily Mormul, a resident of Chertkovo, is a retired railway worker who has served the Chertkovo-Millerovo section of the road all his life, which, according to Russian Railways plans, will be bypassed by a new branch in 2018.

“It will be bad for all Chertkovites, and even more so for Ukrainians”

Considers Vasily Fedotovich.

Now residents of the regions of the Lugansk region adjacent to the Russian border use trains going through Chertkovo. It is especially convenient for residents of the border regions of the Lugansk region neighboring Russia - Markovsky, Belovodsky and Melovodsky.

Three years later, the Chertkovo station will “move” 25 km deep into Russia and will be located near the settlement of Kuteynikovo, but it will become a transit station, that is, all passenger trains will rush through it without stopping.

The nearest station is located in Millerovo (Rostov Region) or Kantemirovka (Voronezh Region), which is about 100 km, one way or the other.

“Such a taxi ride now costs a thousand rubles, otherwise it is difficult to get there”

The railwayman continues the conversation.

In the current conditions, the same Ukrainians at the border checkpoint are transported by taxi drivers to the Chertkovo station for 150 rubles. And the people of Melovo do not need to spend money on transport at all - they crossed the railway bridge, and you are already at Chertkovo station, in Russia.

A section of the railway track Rostov - Moscow, passing through the Ukrainian territory.

What will happen to Chertkovo station?

The Chertkovo railway station is a breadwinner that gives income not only to full-time railway workers, but also to ordinary residents of the two countries who trade at the station at the time the trains stop. With the absence of trains, this additional income will disappear for many. And there is almost no other.

Six to ten trains a day stop at Chertkovo in winter, and up to 80 trains a day in summer, when people from Moscow travel to the Black Sea resorts.

What will happen to the Chertkovo station and the existing railway line is still unclear. Chertkovites are promised to leave the electric train Chertkovo - Millerovo, at the station itself, it is quite possible that an unloading and loading area for freight trains will remain.

But whether Russian trains will continue to run along the 26-kilometer Ukrainian section is a big question. If there is no heavy traffic on this section and the section ceases to be serviced, then the road may suffer the same fate as the 32-kilometer railway Likhaya (Russia) - Izvarino (Ukraine), which was dismantled for scrap.

"Where is the permission?"

Vasily Mormul knows every sleeper, pole, lantern on the Chertkovo - Millerovo section.

“Everyone is talking about the Ukrainian section 26 km towards Voronezh from Chertkovo, but for some reason they forgot about two small sections on the Chertkovo-Millerovo stretch, in the other direction, where trains also have to travel through Ukrainian territory”

The pensioner says

Home on a passport. Russian houses ended up on the territory of Ukraine

The plots are small, two kilometers long, in one case the road stretches across Ukrainian territory to a site of 14 hectares, in another - 10 hectares. This is almost right next to the Russian border, but still - on the side of Ukraine.

That is why a new branch will be built from the Voronezh region to Millerovo.

The railway worker does not remember any territorial disputes with the Ukrainian side for all the time of work, but one conflict did happen.

The incident took place in 2007, when Russian railroad workers were digging holes for power transmission pylons right on the Ukrainian section of the track.

“Some people drove up to us, politely demanded permission to work in the border zone, we answered them that we don’t have any permissions and never had.”

The Russian remembers.

According to him, they completed the work and no one bothered the Russian railway workers anymore.

Since the collapse of the USSR and the proclamation of Ukraine as a sovereign state, no incidents have been recorded during the passage of Russian passenger trains through Ukrainian “appendicitis”.

Nevertheless, the Russian authorities decided on an expensive project, laying a railway bypassing a neighboring state in order to get reliable, stable and independent traffic in a southerly direction.

Construction began in an open field

Work on the construction of the new railway began at the end of March this year. The Russian military began preparing an embankment for the construction of tracks near the village of Novopavlovka, Voronezh Region.

Four battalions of railway brigades from the Central, Southern, Western military districts, numbering about a thousand people, were involved.

“We settled down in an open field, now there is already a military camp, the personnel are accommodated in tents”

Says the chief of staff, deputy commander of the military unit Pavel Sharov.

By the end of 2017, a double-track electrified section of the Zhuravka-Millerovo railway line will pass through these fields. The task of the military is to prepare the embankment, then specialists from Russian Railways will take up the matter. It is still not clear what to do with the residents of Chertkovo, whom the new site will essentially leave in isolation.

Railroad bypassing Ukraine will avoid provocations

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov.

Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Dmitry Bulgakov personally came to the Voronezh region to follow the progress of the construction of the tracks.

The railway bypassing Ukraine will start work a year ahead of schedule - August 15, 2017. Dmitry Bulgakov, Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia, told journalists about this. He personally came to the Voronezh region to follow the progress of the construction of the tracks.

- Railway communication on the section Zhuravka - Millerovo will be opened on August 15, 2017. On this day, the first trains with people and cargo will run along this double-track electrified railway line, Bulgakov told TASS. - Thus, the task set by the President of Russia to build a railway by the Railway Troops and Russian Railways will be completed ahead of schedule, more than a year before the deadline.

The path from the Central Federal District to the Rostov Region passes through Ukrainian territory. Trains run 26 kilometers across the Luhansk region along the border with Russia. The trains have to cross the border zone twice.

The order to build a railway bypassing Ukraine between the Voronezh and Rostov regions was signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. This section of the track will provide independent train traffic, not tied to the problems and troubles that our neighbors continue to have, Medvedev is sure. Also, this branch will save people on tickets.

But the construction of a new railway track has another plus - safety.

“The current Ukrainian government is hostile to Russia,” political scientist Oleksandr Chalenko reminded. “They have repeatedly stated that Moscow is the aggressor. We constantly see provocations from Kiev. Recently there was a kidnapping of Russian servicemen. How can we know that when the train runs 26 kilometers through Ukrainian territory, everything will be fine? They can invent anything. Half of the passengers will be recognized as accomplices of terrorists and the border guards will take them out of the way. They will make far-fetched accusations, for example, likes were placed under “separatist posts” on social networks. Then interrogations and arrests will begin. Or the Ukrainian radicals will get into their heads to take revenge on the citizens of Russia for some things. And they will shower the cars with Molotov cocktails. And the Ukrainian authorities can take and block the route for trains at any second. Why take such a risk? Naturally, Russia wants to protect itself. The paths will go through a safe area. We are well aware that this is a strategic road that connects the capital and the south of Russia.

Train arrival. Special report by Yulia Makarova

Zhuravka - Millerovo is a new railway line, which was built around the territory of Ukraine. The new route passes through the Voronezh and Rostov regions.

Photo: Izvestia │ Alexander Kazakov

Now passenger trains also bypass Ukraine

Passenger trains in the south of Russia from November 15, 2017 were allowed to bypass Ukraine along the new section of the Zhuravka-Millerovo railway.

The length of the section is 137.5 km. It passes through the territory of the Voronezh and Rostov regions. The new section will run trains from Moscow and St. Petersburg to Kislovodsk, Anapa, Nazran, Novorossiysk, Adler and in the opposite direction.

In the future, it is planned to launch all trains to the southern cities bypassing Ukraine.

According to the project, the maximum speed of passenger trains on the section will be 140 km/h.

"Passenger traffic on the new line Zhuravka - Millerovo will definitely be safer and more comfortable for passengers"

Yury Sahakyan, General Director of the Institute for Natural Monopoly Problems (IPEM), informed.

“Also, new lines are always built using new technologies, which means that even if on a small section, the comfort of the trip will increase,” he added.

The cost of building the railway Zhuravka - Millerovo bypassing Ukraine was estimated at about 56 billion rubles.

Overall rating of the material: 4.9

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11.12.2017

Since December 11, Russia has transferred all transportation by rail, bypassing the Lugansk region of Ukraine. What does Kiev lose and how will Kiev respond to Russia's refusal of transit, DW sorted it out.

On December 11, 2017, Russia transferred all long-distance trains: both freight and passenger in the direction of Moscow-Rostov-on-Don and back, bypassing Ukraine. The Russian Federation declares the "strategic significance" of the event and estimates the losses of Kiev in the amount of more than $200 million, which the Russian Federation used to pay for railway travel through the Lugansk region.

However, Ukrainian experts note that in fact, the amount of Russian payments for Luhansk transit has decreased three times since the beginning of the events in the south-east of the country, as traffic volumes fell. According to analysts, the reforms of the Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia), the renewal of the rolling stock, the modernization of the railway infrastructure and active participation in the project of the new Silk Road from China to Europe will help restore Ukraine's losses from the fall in transit traffic.

Bypass trains

Passenger trains of the Russian Railways (RZD) from December 11 will go south at a distance of 25 km from the Ukrainian border through the territory of the Voronezh and Rostov regions - along the new Zhuravka-Millerovo line 137 km long. Earlier, Russian trains were in transit through the short haul "Hartmashevka-Zorinovka" in the Luhansk region, twice crossing the Ukrainian boundary. Russian media report that "the constructed road will strengthen the independence of Russia and ensure the safety of transportation." After the opening of this section last September, cargo trains were launched through it, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attached the Order of Zhukov to the banner of the 39th brigade of the railway troops, which participated in the construction.

Infografik Karte Eisenbahn Russland Ukraine

"The short haul in the Lugansk region between Hartmashevka and Zorinovka has long been in a withered state," said Oleksandr Okhrimenko, head of the Ukrainian Analytical Center. In the early 90s, this section of the road was leased to Russia for 49 years. "Before the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, coal mined in the Donbass and the Rostov region was transported here," DW's interlocutor explained. Since 2014, freight traffic has declined sharply, but some entrepreneurs have continued transportation. "The section was not the most important, its specificity was that the goods partially went through the territory of Ukraine, and now the Russians will bypass it," says Okhrimenko. The expert does not consider this "a huge tragedy", but, in his opinion, "the loss of even a small amount of payment for transit, which is about $70 million, is, of course, undesirable."

Fight for transit traffic

As reported on the website of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, "in addition to data on the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as parts of the ATO zone," rail transport provides 82 percent of freight and up to 50 percent of passenger traffic from all that are carried out by different modes of transport. It is the transportation of goods that brings more income to Ukrzaliznytsia and the Ukrainian treasury. However, over the past 3 years, the volume of transit freight traffic for certain groups of goods has been steadily declining. Thus, in 2016 alone, 30 percent less cargo passed through Ukraine in transit than in 2015.

Alexander Okhrimenko

“At the same time, despite the war, we still have Russian transit, although only Ukrainian-formed trains run through Ukraine,” Oleksandr Okhrimenko emphasized. He believes that Moscow has set a goal - to weaken the economy of Ukraine. "Across our territory there is a flow of goods from Asia to Europe and back, it is profitable for us to serve them," the expert says. But, according to him, Russia would like, bypassing Ukraine, "to take over the entire transit traffic of rail traffic that goes from China through Kazakhstan to the Russian Federation and further to the EU countries."

Russian Railways plans to continue building the road from Zhuravka station to Prokhorovka. And by 2025, a high-speed railway along the eastern border of Ukraine will be commissioned, which will connect the Central part of the Russian Federation with the Black Sea coast (direction Voronezh-Liski-Rostov-on-Don). Okhrimenko warns that "when Russia builds its infrastructure in this region and stops using Ukraine as a transit country, Ukrainians could lose up to $1.6 billion - that's how much they earned in 2011-2012 on rail transit to Europe, when relations with Russia were not were the same as they are now." The same figure of Ukraine's possible losses was previously called by the media, referring to the words of Yevgeny Chervonenko, the ex-Minister of Transport and Communications under Viktor Yushchenko.

"It's pointless to count past losses"

Igor Tyshkevich, an expert at the Ukrainian Institute for the Future, agrees that the losses of Kiev named by Russia after the opening of a small section of Zhuravka-Millerovo are exaggerated and will not be able to seriously undermine the economic potential of Ukraine. "With the start of full-scale hostilities in parts of the Lugansk and Donetsk regions, Ukrzaliznytsia no longer exists as a single entity, it is simply impossible to restore passenger and cargo traffic in the previous volumes," DW Tyshkevich said.

Igor Tyshkevich

Therefore, he is convinced that it makes no sense to count the losses of previous years, as well as "to say that Ukraine will not do without Russian cargo." The expert also does not see anything unexpected in the fact that Russia is building a bypass railway around Ukraine, since "this is connected with the program for the development of Russian ports in the southern region of the Russian Federation."

"As for the rupture of the close cooperation between the Ukrainian and Russian railways in the past, this will definitely happen, like the sunset in the evening," Tyshkevich is convinced. In his opinion, Ukrzaliznytsia should "do what it actually does now - hold tenders and negotiate on the purchase of new rolling stock and the repair of the old one."

According to official data, the depreciation of the fleet of mainline electric and diesel locomotives, electric and diesel trains, freight and passenger cars is over 80 percent, with an acute quantitative shortage of this railway equipment. And the length of main lines with overdue major repairs is 27 percent of the total length of railways.

"But if tenders for purchases and repairs are held, then the modernization of the railway track and power lines basically exists only in the plans," says Igor Tyshkevich. The reason is not only the lack of investment, but also the lack of reforms in Ukrzaliznytsia itself, which are being delayed for various reasons. Including, because of its transfer from the Department of the Ministry of Transport under the control of the Cabinet of Ministers, and then back. And also "because of the slowdown of market mechanisms of work, the predominance of political reasons over economic ones and the unwillingness to respond to accusations of large-scale corruption," which the Ukrainian media have repeatedly written about.

In turn, Alexander Okhrimenko recalled another project in which Ukraine could actively participate in order to compensate for the loss of Russian transit. This is the transportation of goods bypassing Russia along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) - one of the corridors of the Chinese "Silk Road". The southern route called "Silk Wind" leads from China through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia, from there in two directions - to Turkey or Ukraine, and from it through Belarus - to the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda in the Baltic.

“There is a lot of talk about this project, but little has been done so far,” the expert believes. “The critical situation should make Ukraine really think about how to implement this plan along with reforms in Ukrzaliznytsia,” concludes Okhrimenko.

The new double-track electrified railway with a length of 137 km runs away from the Russian-Ukrainian border through the territories of the Voronezh and Rostov regions. Until today, all Russian trains of the Caucasian direction, including Moscow-Adler, travel 26 km through the Luhansk region, crossing the state border twice.

The main reason for the construction of the bypass line was the concern for traffic safety, because the technical condition of the canvas on the Ukrainian section of the highway connecting Moscow with the resorts of the Black Sea coast leaves much to be desired. In addition, there are inconveniences associated with crossing the border. With the opening of the new road, trains will run through Russia.

As the head of the Russian Defense Ministry Sergei Shoigu noted, the Zhuravka-Millerovo section is of great importance for the safe and intensive transportation of passengers and cargo in the southern direction of the country.

Seven railway stations were modernized along the route: Zaitsevka, Sergeevka, Sokhranovka, Kuteynikovo, Vinogradovka, Kolodezi and Bochenkovo. The maximum speed of passenger trains will be 140 km/h, for freight trains - 90 km/h. According to official figures, the federal budget spent 55 billion rubles on the project.

Progress or oblivion?

The old railway going towards Ukraine and the new bypass are clearly visible from the M-4 Don federal highway between the city of Millerovo and the village of Malchevskaya, Rostov Region. Some motorists stop: take a selfie. Train traffic here is intense, trains run every ten minutes. Soon the locomotives will change direction and begin to turn towards the Russian side.

New railway bypassing Ukraine. Station Kuteynikovo (Chertkovsky district). Photo: AiF / Vitaly Kolbasin

The upcoming event will change the lives of many villagers in the border settlements of the Chertkovsky and Millerovsky districts of the Rostov region. For some people, a new piece of hardware is progress, for others it is oblivion.

The second life of Maryana's farm

The new Kuteynikovo station is located on the territory of the Maryana farm, the railway came here for the first time. A three-story building for duty shifts has already been built here, equipment is being connected. The electrical substation is ready, the construction of the station for passengers will soon begin. In the farm, to seven streets, another one was added, on which two sixteen-apartment buildings for railway workers are being erected.

Builders are finishing the arrangement of the adjacent territory of the new railway. Photo: AiF / Vitaly Kolbasin

At first, the Maryanovites were wary of large-scale construction, but gradually realized their advantage. The most important thing is that many of them have found work at their place of residence and now do not leave their families for distant lands to earn money. Contracting organizations hired Maryanovites to work as drivers, machine operators, and cooks.

“Of course, I am pleased with the changes that the railway has brought to the life of fellow countrymen. Mariana's farm begins a second life. The territory of the Kuteynikovo railway station is growing and being improved,” says the head of the rural settlement Vitaly Neshcheret. In his opinion, personnel from Chertkovo will be transferred to Kuteynikovo, so the existing railway workers will not lose their jobs.

"Hole in the Budget"

For residents of the Kolodezi settlement, as well as the Maryana farm, the railway is new. The junction was built a few kilometers from Kolodezei, and now the habitual sedate life of the villagers has changed. People are adjusting to new realities, getting used to the proximity of the steel line.

The head of the Kolodezyansky rural settlement, Viktor Rudoy, ​​calculates both the pros and cons: “There is now a hole in the budget of the rural settlement of 50 thousand rubles for the land confiscated by the “feds” from farmers, and this is 300 hectares. We will not receive taxes on them now.”

In the settlements adjacent to the railway, roads are being renovated and bridges are being built. Photo: AiF / Vitaly Kolbasin

"Zhelezka" affected the interests of thousands of shareholders of the land, collective farmers receive compensation. Rural entrepreneurs had to change their business strategy because the canvas divided the fields into two parts. Some farms have equipment on one side, and land on the other.

The places of passage of agricultural machinery under the tracks were coordinated with the builders not without problems. As a result, it was possible to find a balance of interests, the railway workers heard the local population. "Punctures" were built to the required width, even a harvester with a harvester passes under the railway. Therefore, the fears of farmers were in vain.

Viktor Rudoy notes the advantage of being close to the railway: “The villagers have new jobs. At the Kolodezi station, seven people serve the power plant, the maintenance of the bridge will also require personnel. The plans include the construction of three four-apartment houses for railway workers.

The road bypassing Ukraine is removed at a distance of 25 km from the border. Photo: AiF / Vitaly Kolbasin

"Zhelezka" left the villagers

But not all settlements are as lucky as the farm of Maryana or the settlement of Kolodezi. There are also those to which the branch has not reached.

The population of the small village of Malchevskaya, which, like the regional center Chertkovo, the new "piece of iron" left aside, will suffer more than others because of the change in traffic.

The settlement owes its almost one and a half century history to the railway workers. In 1865, a station was built in Malchevskaya on the railroad leading from Voronezh to Rostov, and all the years life in the village flourished thanks to the industry. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, long-distance passenger trains Tambov-Rostov, Zhdanov-Voronezh, Moscow-Rostov and many others stopped in Malchevskaya, and now only one electric train Rostov-Chertkovo makes a short stop.

The main feature of the station in Malchevskaya in the seventies and eighties were two buffets that worked around the clock, which sold alcohol on tap: beer, wine, vodka. Many train passengers traveling to southern resorts or home to Moscow were aware of this fact and were looking forward to the stop. For ten minutes of parking, some holiday-goers managed to “pick up” so much that they then ran after the train. There were those who lagged behind the train ...

Trains are still going through Chertkovo station: the passage to the tracks is blocked by an embankment. Photo: AiF / Vitaly Kolbasin

But there is another side to the life of the villagers: the death of people under the wheels of trains. "Empty" stand for hours (or even days) waiting for the trains to form, so the locals are forced to "dive" under the cars in order to cross to the opposite side.

“Accidents are not uncommon here. Last year, a man was hit by a train, I identified. My grandmother also died: she did not hear the signal of the oncoming train, - said the head of the Malchevsky rural settlement Alexander Gusakov. “We asked for a pedestrian bridge across the railway tracks to be built for the safety of people for many decades, but it was erected at the neighboring Bochenkovo ​​station, through which a new branch passed.”

The village head is disappointed that the designers chose the Bochenkovo ​​junction, where there are practically no inhabitants, and not Malchevskaya, where 3.5 thousand villagers live. Alexander Gusakov is sure that his fellow countrymen will feel worse without a piece of hardware: “For us, this is not at all good news, because we have already become attached. The railway gave jobs at the oil depot, the elevator, but now I don’t know how it will be. They say they won't clean up the old road, but I can't believe it. After all, Russia pays money for travel through the territory of Ukraine.”

Damn on the sidelines

The status of the nodal station Chertkovo, located in the regional center, will also lose. Here, Ukrainians from the neighboring village of Melovoe are more worried than others. Many residents of the neighboring state use the Rostov-Chertkovo train to travel to work in Rostov-on-Don. Now it is not clear whether the train will be left on the old line. Now the Ukrainians are very comfortable: they crossed the railway bridge and immediately ended up at the Russian Chertkovo railway station.

“It’s better for the country, of course, but it’s inconvenient for us,” says Alexandra Fomenko, a resident of Chertkovo. “We hope that the building of the Chertkovo station will be left, but will they keep its staff for the sake of one electric train?”

The village of Chertkovo today. Photo: AiF / Vitaly Kolbasin

The head of the administration of the Chertkovsky rural settlement, Tatyana Bezgina, is more optimistic in her forecasts: “In my opinion, the bypass will not affect the residents of the village. We don't travel by train every day."

Nevertheless, changes in the life of Chertkovites can already be observed, and positive ones at that. A year ago, the twenty-five-kilometer highway from Chertkovo to Kuteynikovo did not stand up to scrutiny, it was full of potholes and pits. Now the track has been overhauled, it is a pleasure to drive along it. According to the plan of the designers, Chertkovo will be replaced by Kuteynikovo. Long-distance passenger trains going from Moscow to the south and back will stop here.

Work on the construction site was received by local residents. Photo: AiF / Vitaly Kolbasin

Continuation of the Center-South project

In terms of strategic importance, experts compare the new Zhuravka-Millerovo railway section with the Kerch Bridge and the construction of a railway in Eastern Siberia and the Far East (Baikal-Amur Mainline). But this is only the beginning of Russian Railways' large-scale plans in the Center-South direction. The next stage is the construction of a high-speed highway (HSR) Moscow-Rostov-Adler. Construction of the Rostov-Krasnodar-Adler and Tula-Voronezh sections is planned for 2021-2025. Until 2030, it is planned to build a high-speed line between Rostov and Voronezh. The total travel time from Moscow to Rostov will be 4.5 hours (instead of 18 hours by passenger train), from Rostov to Adler - 3.5 hours (instead of 11 hours).

The other day, the director of Russian Railways for passenger transportation, Dmitry Pegov, told reporters that from December 11, 2017, all passenger trains will be transferred to a new railway line bypassing Ukraine. And here is an amazing coincidence. Exactly on December 11, I had to drive along it.

I confirm. Train No. 36 "Northern Palmyra" Adler - St. Petersburg that day was on the new section of Bochenkovo ​​- Zhuravka.

1. I wanted to shoot a video from the vestibule of the last car, but it turned out that it was impossible to do this on a double-decker train.

On the constructed site, the builders performed a large amount of excavation work, leveled the horizontal profile and provided large curve radii. It is assumed that this will allow the highway to be used as part of the Center-South high-speed course. True, while trains are moving along the section at speeds of 60-80 km/h, occasionally accelerating to 110 km/h.

1. Southern junction of the old railway to the bypass near Bochenkovo ​​station.

Due to the political component, the project attracts a lot of attention. Officials of various levels, now and then breaking down, prematurely report on successes. It so happened that I was in the vicinity of the Bochenkovo ​​station just after the application and the passage of the first working train. On the spot, it turned out that even a temporary track had not been laid there.

In practice, train No. 36 covered a section of 130 km in 1 hour and 40 minutes. The average speed was 79 km/h. For a short time, the train accelerated to 110 km / h, but basically the speed fluctuated around 50-80 km / h. .

2. Overpass on the road M4 - Malchevskaya. It was from him that the August photographs were taken.

It is important to understand here that speeds depend not only on the rolling stock, the state of the track, but also on the old schedule. The main stroke is operational in both directions. Ride is so-so, especially chatting on the arrows.

The work on the slopes of the excavations has not yet been completed everywhere, in some places there are no tracks at the stations, railway stations, the construction of service roads is underway.

Station Zaitsevka in the maximum degree of readiness. The information boards on the platforms are already working, the station itself is decorated with balloons.

3. Northern junction of the old railway near Zhuravka station.

4. Station Zhuravka.

The experts summed up the results of the annual work of the Russian railway bypassing Ukraine, having found out whether this railway line justified the tasks and expenses.

Recall that initially the initiative to build this section appeared four years ago, as it could help open transportation to the south without crossing the Ukrainian land. Such a proposal was then made by the management of Russian Railways. However, the idea itself existed for a long time, but the aggravated political situation between the countries prompted to bring it to life.

Prior to this, Russian trains in a southerly direction followed, among other things, through a separate section of the Lugansk region (37 km), because of which they had to cross the Ukrainian border twice in order, for example, to overcome the distance from Moscow to Adler.

And now, in the spring of 2015, the construction of this railway track began. And in September, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a document on construction, in which they called for providing the country with a stable and independent movement in this direction. The prime minister ordered to build the necessary infrastructure around the new route, as well as to provide additional jobs in the regions.

Photo source: rbk.ru

On August 7, 2017, the road was finally completed and started working. First, they launched a test freight service, after which, at the end of autumn, they also opened the movement of trains for passengers. And in winter, all Russian trains in the southern direction were completely transferred to this railway line.

As a result, this path, completely passing through the territory of Russia, is 137 kilometers. It is known that the railway track is only 30 km longer than the previous one, and also connects the Voronezh and Rostov regions. According to estimates, this construction cost the Russian Federation 56 billion rubles. Now 30 pairs of freight and 62 pairs of passenger trains pass along the road. Additionally, new stations were built in the districts, where the wagons stop.

In Ukraine, a year ago, they also commented on this news. According to the Minister of Infrastructure Vladimir Omelyan, Kiev welcomes this project of Moscow, and there will supposedly be no consequences for their country from this.

Photo source: news247.com.ua

However, a year has passed since the railroad tracks are working properly. And according to the supporters of this project, this road, just like the Crimean bridge, was completed ahead of schedule. All this led experts to the idea that the project this year will have a truly positive economic effect. It is also believed that this construction then solved certain political issues about the safety and reliability of the transportation of people and cargo in the existing relationship between Kiev and Moscow, which so far continue to deteriorate.

The press service of Russian Railways also spoke on this topic. They noted that the company successfully coped with this construction, adequately fulfilling the instructions of the Russian government.

It is known that the main goal of the project was to improve the safety of transportation, as well as the rejection of the external factor influencing them in the person of Ukraine. Indeed, now the new line to the south lies entirely on Russian territory, which, moreover, has improved communications between regions within the country.

Director of the Institute of Transport Economics and Transport Policy (IETiTP) of the National Research University Higher School of Economics and Professor of the Faculty of Economic Sciences Tatyana Kulakova noted that this road fully fulfills its task. In particular, the task has been facilitated for the passengers of these trains themselves, who now do not need to cross the border twice. Evaluating the annual operation of the line, the expert concluded that it justifies itself in terms of savings and solving user issues.

Photo source: rbk.ru

But the chairman of the International Public Organization "Union of Passengers" Kirill Yankov believes that this railway track will never pay back its costs. The expert believes that here it is necessary to look more not for financial benefits, but for the political aspects of the relationship between the two sides. Since it was more profitable for the Russian Federation from a material point of view to use the old line, however, the choice was made to a greater extent based on politics. According to Yankov, the only result of this construction is that Russian trains to the south now do not enter the territory of Ukraine. Also, this line allows you to develop a higher speed, which saves time for transportation.

According to Pavel Ivankin, director general of the Institute for the Study of Railway Transport Problems and a leading industry expert, the project cannot be called commercial. He also agreed with the previous specialist that his goal was to exclude traffic on the territory of Ukraine.

Recall that along with all these positive comments about the construction, it was accompanied by negative reviews. For example, some residents of the Rostov region, located on the border with Ukraine, complained that their local roads were damaged due to the work of construction equipment on this line. Nevertheless, this year “Russian Railways has already transferred two billion rubles to this region in order to modernize the roads affected by the construction.