On 6 February 2019, Maxim Akimov, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Tokarev, the Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, Venyamin Kondratyev, the head of the Krasnodar Territory Administration, and Oleg Belozerov, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Russian Railways, officially opened the new Kozyrki-Severo rail section of Krasnodar-Caucasus Railways for freight trains.
The new Kozyrki-Severo section is a fully electrified double-track railway line which connects the Volga region with ports on the shores of the Azov and Black Seas. It will now enable the transit freight that previously passed through Krasnodar to bypass the city, thus improving the transport and environmental situation in the capital of the Kuban region in southern Russia.
“Today we have completed a key transport project for South Russia which enables us to solve the important task of ensuring the growth of freight handling volumes at Russia’s sea ports, as laid down in Presidential Decree issued in May 2018. From now on, freight services will start on the new line in accordance with the timetable, with the number of freight trains each day due to reach 154 pairs. I congratulate all those whose work, minds and talent made possible the successful completion of the project,” said Maxim Akimov.
"Each project has a “golden link,” said Oleg Belozerov. "The 65 kilometres of track which now bypass Krasnodar were built a year ahead of schedule. The new line has already reduced the freight delivery time on this section by 10 hours, which is very important for the development of our country"s economy."
Belozerov also stressed that the Krasnodar rail bypass was only built after taking into account the interests of the region’s residents.
“The railway line does not cross roads and motorways because we built 29 artificial structures, which enable us to deliver goods faster without creating transport problems for the population at large,” noted the Company CEO and Chairman.
The design work on the 65-km double-track electrified branch, including two new freight stations, Kirpili and Beyuzuzhyok, began in 2013, while the active construction phase of the bypass around the Krasnodar railway hub on the Kozyrki-Grechanyai section commenced in 2017. All road-rail crossings and intersections were built at different levels. The 29 artificial structures include bridges, overpasses and passages for agricultural machinery.
The construction of the Kozyrki - Grechanaya section required investment amounting to more than 36 billion roubles from the Russian federal budget and the Company’s own funds.
The commissioning of the bypass around the Krasnodar rail hub is just one part of a comprehensive project to develop approaches to the ports of the Azov-Black Sea basin. Implementation of this larger project began in 2007, and since then, about 900 km of new track has been built. Total investment so far has exceeded 150 billion roubles.
During 2019-2020, the project provides for the commissioning of another 200 km of track for various purposes.
A further investment of 62.5 billion roubles is planned in order to complete the project.
(Source: RZD)
