GC NPS, JSC companies have upgraded an 11-kilometer stretch of the BAM (Baikal-Amur Mainline) railway across the Sikhote-Alin range.

Here, the railway runs between the spurs of the Sikhote-Alin mountain range and the Gur River. As part of the preparation of the roadbed for the second track, the mechanization crews moved over 1.7 mln cubic meters of soil.

The upgrade included straightening the track section: the new line is 700 meters shorter than the old one. For this purpose, an excavation about 160 meters high was developed in the rock. The shelves were arranged along the entire height of the excavation: this will increase the stability of the structure and protect the tracks from rockfall. The construction workers were operating in close proximity to the existing BAM line. To avoid the risks associated with blasting, hydraulic hammers were used to break up the rock instead of explosives.

The section now includes four bridges, notably two crossings over the Gur River that are 132 and 142 meters long. 3 new culverts were built and 3 existing culverts were reconstructed. All structures are designed to accommodate flash floods in mountain rivers and streams.

The section also saw upgrades to the interlocking, communications, and power supply systems. More than 180 poles for overhead lines were installed, along with 240 km of cable.

The Aksaka – Kenai railway section is part of the Komsomolsk-on-Amur to Sovetskaya Gavan line, a key route to the Pacific ports. Upgrading the complete 440 km length of the line will boost its capacity from 33 to 58 train pairs daily.