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CURRENT SUPPORT MEMORANDUM
FURTHER CONSTRUCTION ON THEENA RAILROAD
cia historical review program release as8
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Thb report represemTthe Immediate views or-trio originathjormtenigencefifTOffice of .Research and Reports. Commeilrs are solicited.
FURTHER CONSTRUCTION ON TBKENA RAILROAD
A recent press article clarifies the status of the long-planned Baykal-Amur Mainline (BAM).l/ The railroad wasplanned inecond route to the Far East to supplement the vulnerable Trans-Siberian Railroad.2/ onstruction was under way from Tayshet to the easT, but little progress was made.3/ The postwar entry of China into theBloc reduced" tbe vulnerability of the Trans-Siberian line and work was slowly resumed. he line was inoperation as farermitting further shipments to the north-east via the Lena River. In the absence ofthat the rail line was being extended, it seemed probable that construction was suspended
It now appears that construction is planned to continue. ecent magazine article stated that in the next fifteenew main line railroad connecting the Angara-Ilinakiy region with the Southern Yakutian coal basin is to be built.5/
The railroad, planned to be built in the Seventh and Eighth Five-Year Plans, will run northeast from Ust'Kut through Kirensk and Olokminsk to Aldan.6/ The railroad will probably follow the west bank of tho Lena RTver to Kirensk, cross the river and proceed up the Lena Valley to the Olekma River, from there it will goto Aldan.7/ Although the exact route is unknown, bythis route the mountainous region between the Lena River and Aldan will be avoided. (See map) Some reports indicate thatmay have already progressed beyond Ust'Kut.8/
ailroad, if built, would give year round access to the mineral rich region of the southern Yakutsk ASSR and greatly aid in the planned economic development of the entire area. Plans forbeyond Aldan, if any, are unknown.
The article also revealedilometer section of track In the Bratsk area (see insert^p) must.*be relocated to go around the area to be flooded by construction, of the Bratsk Dam. The new route will leave the present line at Vikhorevka, pass throughAndzeb and Pursey, cross the Angara River via the Bratsk Dam, proceed eastward and rejoin the old track at Vidim. This lineis necessary due to changes in plans for the BratskStation,esult of which tho water level will be raised considerably higher than theeters anticipated when the railroad was built.9/ Cost of the line will beubles, slightly moreubles per One explanation of the unit cost, which is considered very lowTor the type of terrain to be crossed, is that construction expenditures for theilometers from Vikhorevka to Pursey may be charged to the Bratsk Hydroelectric Project. This sector of line will be rushed to completion and usedupply line to the dam constructionr^i* cost orilometers would then beubles per kilometer, whichore reasonable figure.
The relocated line will not be completed0 since lta crossing of the Angara River via the dam which will not be completed before that time. The present tracks will remain inuntil, completion of the new sector.
eptemberSUPPORT MEMORANDUM2
-SECRET
Analyst:
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eptemberSUPPORT MEMORANDUM3
Original document.
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