THE EXPANSION OF THE SOVIET RAILROAD NETWORK BETWEEN 1950 AND 1960

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T01018A000300030004-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 32
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 3, 2000
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: August 1, 1960
• Content Type: IR

CONFIQ
SEER ET
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N? 198
GEOGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE REPORT
THE EXPANSION OF THE SOVIET RAILROAD
NETWORK BETWEEN 1950 AND 1960
CIA/RR GR 60-2
August 1960
DOCUMENT NO.
NO CHANGE IN C SS. ^
? DECLASSIFIED
CLASS.
REVIEW :___
NEXT REVIEW DA I E: /` / ~f~
AUTH: HR 70-2
EV:EWER, 0g0.614
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS
w
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This material contains information af' >cting
the National Defense of the United states
within the meaning of the espionage laws,
Title 18, JSC, Secs. 793 and 794, the rans-
nlission or revelation of which in any n;:lnner
to an unauthorized person is prohibited IT law.
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CONFIDENTIAL.
GEOGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE REPORT
THE EXPANSION OF THE SOVIET RAILROAD
NETWORK BETWEEN 1950 AND 1960
CIA/RR GR 60-2
August 1960
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS
CONF_IDENTIAL
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C
CONTENTS
Page
I. Introduction t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
II. Major Objectives Underlying New Construction . . . . 3
A. Exploitation of New Resources . . . . . . . . 3
1. Kazakhstan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. South-Central Siberia . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3. The Region East of Lake Baikal . . . . . . . 5
4. European USSR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
B. Extension of Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
C. Construction of New Hydroelectric Projects . . . 10
III. Improvement in Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
A. Modernization of Signaling Facilities . . . . . 13
B. Expansion of Railroad Station and Yard Facili-
ties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
C. Electrification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
D. Dieselization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
IV. Evaluation of Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
A. Goals and Accomplishments . . . . . . . . . . . 19
B. Continuing Inadequacies . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
V. Comparative Trends in United States and Soviet Rail-
road Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Maps
Following Page
USSR: Railroads, 1960 (27991) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24+
USSR: Status of Electrification and Dieselization of
Railroads, 1 January 1959 (2867+) . . . . . . . . . . . 21I
USSR: Index Map of New Railroads (29075) . . . . . . . 24
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THE EXPANSION OF THE SOVIET RAILROAD NETWORK
BETWEEN 1950 AND 1960
I. Introduction
The development of railroads in the USSR in the last decade closely
parallels the economic growth of the country and varies from region to
region in relation to differences in type of economic development. In
areas of emerging economic significance, emphasis has been placed on
the building of new railroads and on line extension, whereas improve-..
ments in efficiency of operation take precedence in-areas where estab-
lished-industries are being expanded.
Railroad development has been most evident in northern Kazakhstan,.
and southern Siberia from the Urals eastward to Lake Baikal.* In this
region, railroad facilities of the early 1950's were inadequate to
meet the traffic demands imposed on them by Soviet long-range economic
planning. Throughout much of the region, alternate modes of transport
were also inadequate. Few of the roads were modern, and most of the
inland waterways, which are frozen during a large part of the year,
provide routes for north-south traffic only. Consequently, an ambi-
tious program was undertaken for the construction of new rail lines to
connect the mushrooming areas east of the Urals with the main industrial
centers of European USSR and the economically growing republics of
Soviet Central Asia and to construct major through lines to relieve
congestion on the Trans-Siberian trunkline. Although this program was
formulated as early as 1946, it was not implemented until 1950 or
later. Feeder lines have been constructed, and the efficiency of the
railroads has been increased by double tracking, a shift from steam
to electric or diesel traction, and the modernization of traffic-
supporting facilities.
In contrast to the large-scale construction program undertaken in
northern Kazakhstan and southern Siberia, railroad development in the
European USSR has been focused chiefly on increasing the efficiency
of operations and the traffic capacity through modernization of exist-
ing lines.. .New,lines were added in the Arctic region, in the Carpathian
and Donbass areas, and in the Volga-Kama region (where.many originated
as supply lines to huge hydroelectric projects on the Don and Volga
These areas are henceforth referred to as the "Urals-Baikal" region.
Sim
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Rivers). Greater emphasis, however, was placed on double tracking and
electrifying or di!eselizing existing lines, improving road beds, mod-
ernizing signal facilities, and streamlining operations of railroad
stations, centers,; and classification yards.
This report reviews major factors involved in the development of
Soviet railroads during the decade from 1910 to 1960, and describes the
nature of the development and the progress made to date. Progress of
railroad construction is evaluated, curren=t strengths and inadequacies
of the Soviet rail system are noted, and a brief comparison of trends
in railroad operations of the United States and the USSR is presented.
This report is accompanied by a three-sheet map, USSR: Railroads,
1960.,* which summarizes current knowledge on the-status of Soviet rail
trackage, gauge, ahd construction. A second map, USSR: Status of
Electrification and Dieselization of Railroads, 1 January 1959, is
a translated rep odr,uction of a recent Soviet map that provides the
best available map data on dieselized traction as of January 1959
and on plans for the period 1959-65.**
* This map, which follows p. 24, supersedes USSR: Railroads, 1958
(CIA Map 25888), and is available for distribution in quantity through
the CIA Map Library under Call No. 27991.
** This map, which follows p. 24, was originally published in
Zheleznodoroz 2'rans ort, No. 2, 1959, under the title Elektricheskaya
i Te lovozna a T a r__. The English translation is available from the CIA
Map Library under all No. 28674.
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II. Major Objectives Underlying New Construction
The expansion of Soviet railroads in the period between 1950 and 1960
has been dominated by three major objectives.* These are (a) the exploi-
tation of new mineral deposits and the development of industries based
upon them, (b) the extension of agriculture into new areas, and (c) the
initiation of large-scale hydroelectric power projects to exploit the
tremendous power potential of Soviet rivers. The first two objectives
apply mainly to the area east of the Ural Mountains and the third to
the area west of the Urals. Power projects east of the Urals are huge
in size and scope, but they are generally in earlier stages of con-
struction than those in the European USSR. Although some power pro-
jects in European USSR are still in their initial stages, many others
have been completed and are already operating.
A. Exploitati of New Resources
Railroad development has been most pronounced in the Urals-Baikal
region, which contains approximately three-quarters of all known Soviet
coal reserves, about 80 percent of the nation's power potential and
timber reserves, large deposits of ferrous and rare metals, and vast
quantities of iron ore and chemical raw materials. East of Lake Baikal,
railroad expansion is in the planning stage, being dependent upon the
development of known but as yet unexploited mineral resources and of
projected industrial centers based upon these reserves. In European
USSR most of the resources are already being exploited. The chief
exception is the far north, where lines are being constructed to in-
crease timber exports from the Karelian ASSR and to make coal and oil
from the Pechora Basin available to existing industrial centers.
1. Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan ranks particularly high among areas of increased exploi-
tation of mineral resources, and, consequently, railroad construction
there has ranked high in Soviet planning. Major fields of iron ore
* The period in this report coincides with those of the Soviet Fifth
(1951-55) and Sixth (1956-60) Five Year Plans. In September 1957 the
Sixth Five Year Plan was abandoned and was superseded in 1959 by the
Seven Year Plan, which is to continue through 1965. In order to remain
within the time limits set, the planning figures used in this report
have been taken from the Sixth Five Year Plan. This procedure is con-
sidered valid in view of the fact that the railroad development program
set forth in the Sixth Five Year Plan has, in most instances, been incor-
porated into the successor plan and been projected through 1965.
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were discovered in the Turgay Steppe of northern Kazakhstan, near the
town of Kustanay. Mere, centered on the village of Rudnyy, one of the
largest iron ore concentrating combines in the Soviet Union is being
developed. When the initial stage of the combine is completed in 1961,
its yearly output of processed ore will reach some 5.6 million tons.*
Essential to the coiupletion of the combine, as well as to the exploi-
tation and distribution of the iron ore, was the construction of a new
railroad line connecting the Rudnyy complex near Sokolovskaya with the
Central-Siberian and South-Siberian trunklines (No. 1).* In southern
Kustanayskaya Oblast' a new railroad line to the settlement of Arkalyk
also makes possible? the industrial exploitation of the reportedly best
2).
bauxite deposits injKazakhstan No.
The expansion off' coal mining in Kazakhstan has been accompanied by
increases in rail transport capabilities. Expanded operations at the
vast Karaganda coalfields, for example, have involved double-tracking
the Karaganda-Magnitogorsk trunkline (No. 3). On the other hand, plans
for increased. coal production at the Ekibastuz and Kushmurun mining
centers (located inPavlodarskaya and Akmolnskaya Oblasts, respective-
ly) call for the construction of two additional railroad lines. One is
to facilitate coal shipments from Ekibastuz--Ugol' to Omsk and other
industrial centers to the north (No. 4). The other line is to provide
a more direct rail route from Kushmurun to the Chelyabinsk metallurgical
center via Kustanay(No. 5). Currently, both Ekibastuz-Ugol' and
Kushmurun have to rely upon the already congested South-Siberian
trunkline.
2. South-Central Siberia
Railroad expansion in south-central Siberia is associated with
increased mining activities at coal and iron-ore deposits already under
exploitation as well as with the development of newly discovered fields.
The recently completed Stalinsk-Abakan railroad (No. 6) will facilitate
direct shipment of iron ores from the Abaza deposits (south of Abakan,
in the Khakasskaya AO) and from the more recently discovered Teysk
deposits in the Kuznetskiy Alatau to the large industrial center of
Stalinsk. The second, the Abakan-Tayshet l:Lne (No. 7), is still under
construction. When completed, it will provide a direct rail route to
Kuznetskiy metallurgical complexes for the shipment of additional iron
ore as well as timber and processed lumber from newly exploited areas
in eastern Siberia.;,
Metric measurements are used throughout this report.
** Numbers following the names of specific rail lines refer to cor-
responding numbers 'on Map 29075, USSR: Index Map of New Railroads,
following p. 24.
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Three new branch lines of the Trans-Siberian trunkline will provide
access to remote areas in south-central Siberia, where sizeable reserves
of important raw materials are earmarked for exploitation. The Achinsk-
Abalakovo line (No. 8), currently under construction, is designed pri-
marily to open up the large timber reserves in the Yenisey-Angara River
Basin, as well as large iron-ore deposits in the Angaro-Pitskiye'Basin.
The Reshety-Boguchany line (No. 9), which was about half completed by
1950, will facilitate exploitation of coal and timber resources in the
Central Angara Basin. Farther to the east, the completed Tayshet--
Bratsk--Ust'-Kut line (No. 10), provides an important route to the
Bratsk hydroelectric powerplant, to large timber reserves, and to the
Angaro-Ilimskoye iron-ore deposits (located roughly between the settle-
ments of Bratsk and Zayarsk). The last includes the Korshunovskoye
deposit (east of Bratsk), which is already being developed, and the
Rudnogorsk deposit north of Bratsk, where the planned exploitation will
depend on the construction of several projected rail lines that will
connect the deposits in the greater Angara River basin with the Trans-
Siberian trunkline.
3. The Region East of Lake Baikal
Railroad expansion in this region is largely projected and will
coincide with steps taken to exploit sizeable coal and iron-ore de-
posits discovered in the southern part of Yakutskaya ASSR. Closely
associated with these plans is the construction of a railroad trunkline
leading northward from the present Ban-Tyndinskiy branch line of the
Trans-Siberian trunkline to the coal and iron-ore deposits. The new
line will connect the settlements of Chul'man, Aldan, Tayezhnaya, and
Yakutsk (No. 11).
Longer range plans call for the construction of an east-west
trunkline running north of Lake Baikal, which would serve as an alter-
nate to and roughly parallel the Trans-Siberian trunkline. The pro-
jected trunkline is designed to serve future coal and ore mining and
lumber processing centers in the Chul'man-Angaro-Ilimskoye region
and to link the region with the main Trans-Siberian Railroad System
by connecting it with the Tashkent--Bratsk--Ust Kut line.
4. European USSR
In European USSR, railroad expansion has been stimulated chiefly
by the desire to exploit the forest resources in the Karelian Lake
region and Arkhangel'skaya Oblast' and the mineral resources from
such areas as the Pechora Basin (mineral fuels) and the Kursk Basin
(iron ore)..
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To facilitate the cutting and processing of large forest stands in
the Karelian ASSR,''a railroad line is being pushed northward from
Suoyarvi into the heart of the wooded lake district. To date, the line
has been completed'to the settlement of Sukkozero and plans call for
its extension as f,r north as Yushkozero (Na. 12). Later, the line may
well be extended to Pechenga on the Barents Sea. An important branch
has also been built; from Sukkozero to Lendery, near the Finnish border
(No. 13). Both lines have military as well as economic significance.
Since they parallel the Murmansk trunkline and run relatively close to
the Finnish border,; they would facilitate the logistic support for
operations involving the Scandinavian Peninsula.
Exploitation of forest resources in the Severnaya Dvina and Mezen'
River basins has similarly stimulated railroad construction in these
two areas. A projected line is to connect the milling and timber-
processing center of Arkhangelsk with various timber-felling sites
around the village of Leshukonskoye on the Mezen' River (No. 14). At
Leshukonskoye the line will join another projected timber railroad,
which will generally follow the Mezen' Valley from the White Sea port
of Mezen' in the north to the railroad settlement of Mikun' on the
Pechora trunkline to the south (No. 15). Mezen', currently a second-
ary port for river-maritime traffic, is earmarked for development into
a. major lumber port; on the Northern Sea Route.
The flow of coal and oil traffic from the Pechora-Ukhta Basin to
industrial complexes in the Urals will be shortened considerably by
north-south rail links between the Pechora trunkline (Konosha-Kotlas-
Vorkuta) and the existing railroad net in the Urals area. Three
possible routes apparently are under consideration. Although con-
struction is reportedly under way along parts of each of the three
routes, it has not yet been established which of the three will
provide the through'route.
One route would link the Pechora with the Moscow-Gor'kiy-Perm'
trunkline, passing through the settlements of Mikun', Syktyvkar,
Nyuv'chim, Rudnichnyr, and Yar (No. 16). As of January 1960, con-
struction activity s been reported along half the length of this
route. Construction; was nearing completion on the stretch between
Mikun' and Syktyvkar and train service was already operating between
Rudnichnyy and Yar.
The second routeis to skirt the western slopes of the Ural
Mountains. It would connect the oil and gas fields at Ukhta (on the
Pechora trunkline) with Borovsk, the northernmost railhead along the
western foothills ofthe Central Urals (No. 1.7). Construction has
already been reported along a 160-kilometer stretch of the route
that extends north-northeastward from Borovsk through the settlements
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of Cherdyn, Bondyug, and Omut (a workers settlement reportedly located
some 30 kilometers north of Bondyug).
The third and longest of the three routes connecting the Pechora-
Ukhta Basin with the Urals industrial complexes skirts the eastern
slopes of the Ural Mountains. It will branch off the Salekhard-Vorkuta
line at Stantsiya Podgornaya and proceed southward tvia slopes Nyaksimvolt
to
Polunochnoye, the northernmost railhead on
Urals (No. 18). Construction has recently been reported on the
50-kilometer stretch between Polunochnoye and Burmantovo. The primary
coal to of this
dustrial centers of facilitateKrasnouralthe flow
coal to the industrial
Sverdlovsk.
Requirements of the Leningrad industrial complex for Pechora coal
and oil, as well as for processed lumber from the Arkhangelsk region,
have also increased considerably in recent years. To expedite the
increasing flow of traffic, a new and more direct rail connection
between Leningrad and the Pechora -Arkhangelsk regions is being con-
structed. From Konosha, at the junction of the Moscow-Arkhangelsk
and the Pechora trunklines, a new railroad leading almost due wesundert now
the (Lake) via
Lodeynoye Pole
construction. 200 kilometers
Annenskiy Most and Vytegra and will be approximately
shorter than the old route via Konosha, Vologda, Cherepovets, and
Volkhov.
The iron-ore deposits of the Kursk magnetic anomaly, perhaps the
most significant of the new resource bases under exploitation in the
European USSR, constitute one of the world's largest reserves of iron
ore. To facilitate the initial mining operations at Mikhaylovskiy,
an industrial railroad line about 45 kilometers long is being built
from Mikhaylovskiy to Abruzovo on the Moscow-Bryansk-Kharkov trunk-
line (No. 20). The construction of additic7n.al spurs andebranchhe
lines will be required as mining activities expand
area.
B. Extension of Agriculture
Recent agricultural expansion has had a more pronounced effect
on railroad construction in the Urals-Baikal region than anywhere
else in the USSR. This region, in addition to its rapid industrial
development, includes most of the area covered abyct the New Lands Mar
r program that was.launchedm 11 onchectares of virgin and idle lands
cultivation of some 35.5
and Northern steppe regions
Kazakh of hr
The movement
in the sedr~ia, and
Urals, of
UWestern Siberia,
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the labor, farm equipment, supplies, and construction materials required
for a project of such magnitude, however, was hampered by the lack of
adequate transportation facilities. During the initial stages of the
program, access to the New Lands was limited to the east-west Trans-
Siberian and South-Siberian trunklines and to a few secondary lines
crossing the area from north to south.
To meet the transportation requirements in the New Lands, the USSR
initiated large-scale railroad construction programs in Northern
Kazakhstan, in the Altayskiy Kray, and in the districts of Kurganskaya
Oblast', Omskaya Oblast', and Novosibirskaya, Oblast'. Construction
has been started on about 2,132 kilometers of new narrow-gauge and
broad-gauge lines that will serve as feeders to the Trans-Siberian
and South-Siberian trunklines, which roughly bound the New Lands area
on the north and onthe south, respectively. Approximately 1,390
kilometers of new line were originally scheduled as narrow gauge.
This emphasis on narrow-gauge lines reflected the need for quick and
cheap transportation during the initial stages of the New Lands
program. By mid-195,5, however, it became apparent that the volume
of traffic would be greater than anticipated,, and many new lines
originally planned a'p narrow gauge were converted to broad gauge.
The backbone of the new railroad network is the Central-Siberian
trunkline, which, when completed, will extend from Kustanay on the
Tobol River to Barnazl on the Ob' (No. 21). The original plans
called for a series of broad-gauge and narrow-gauge lines, but they
are now being conver ed into a single-track broad-gauge trunkline.
In addition the eastern portion will provide an important bypass for
the Trans-Siberian trunkline. Its main function is to serve the
agricultural needs off' the New Lands. Much of the western half of
the trunkline, extending from Kustanay to Irtyshskoye (on the Irtysh
River), has been completed. Only the sections from Peski to
Volodarskoye and from Kzyl-Tu to Irtyshskoye are still in early
stages of construction.. More than two-thirds of the eastern half of
the trunkline, extending from Irtyshskoye to Barnaul, is either under
construction (the Irtyshskoye-Karasuk sector) or has been completed
(the Karasuk--Kamen'-na-Obi sector). An important branch line leads
northward from Irtyshskoye and follows the left bank of the Irtysh
River to Kulomzino, on the Trans-Siberian trunkline near Omsk (No. 22).
When completed, the Kulomzino-Irtyshskoye-Barnaul trunkline will carry
much of the coal traffic now routed from the Kuzbass to the Urals via
Stalinsk and Novosibitsk, thereby reducing dependence on the heavily
utilized Trans-Siberian trunkline.
As a result of these developments, a number of small and obscure
settlements located along the Central-Siberian trunkline are becoming
important transportation centers. The village of Peski, located
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approximately 220 kilometers east of Kustanay, is already an important
grain transshipment point and storage center. Together with Raz'yezd
(siding) Zernovoy, it forms the junction between the Central-Siberian
trunkline and branch lines leading northwest to Kurgan (No. 23) and
southeast to Athasar and the new state farms (sovkhozes) of Pobeda and
Krasnoznamenskiy (No. 21.). Farther east, the old rayon centers of
Karasuk and Kamen'-na-Obi are also assuming greater economic importance
as a result of the new railroad. Karasuk is being developed into an
important railroad junction, serving both the new Central-Siberian
trunkline and the already existing Tatarskaya-Kulunda-Semipalatinsk
line. Transloading and terminal facilities at Karasuk handle a large
volume of construction materials, including rails from Stalinsk,
railroad spikes from Magnitogorsk, and lumber from the Khakasskaya
A0. A second railroad station, Karasuk II, is being built to handle
the increasing traffic. Kamen'-na-Obi, on the other hand, is rapidly
becoming important as a rail-to-river transloading center.
Several other branch and feeder lines have been built to facilitate
the export of grain from the New Lands. Of these the Tuz-Kala--Uspenkoye
No. 25), Bulayevo-Sovkhoz imeni Malenkova (No. 26) Klisted alfrom east
No. 27), and Shil'da-Sovkhoz Ozernyy lines (No. 28~
to west) are of considerable local importance.
The Tuz-Kala--Uspenka line, completed in 1957, is a 32-kilometer,
broad-gauge extension of the Maraldy-Tavolzhan* line which branches off
is Irtysh sthe ~'-
the South-Siberian trunkline
main function of the extension
rounding area, it also transports salt extracted from the saline deposits
of Maloye Tavolzhanskoye Ozero.
The narrow-gauge Bulayevo-Sovkhoz imeni Malenkova line was completed
It serves chiefly as a feeder
and opened for traffic in August 1955.
line connecting the large Malenkov state farm with the Trans-Siberian
trunkline to the north. It also provides an outlet for grain produced
on new state farms in Bulayevskiy Rayon of Severn-Kazakhstanskaya
Oblast' and in Chkalovskiy Rayon of Kokchetavskaya Oblast'.
The recently completed narrow- auge line from Kovyl'naya to Uritskoye
(midway between Kustanay and Peski) crosses the heart of the New Lands
from north to south, thus providing a link between the South-Siberian
and Central-Siberian trunklines. The main function of the line is to
Tuz-Kala and Tavolzhan refer to the same locality. The former appears
to be merely the name for the railroad station and the terminal facil-
ities at Tavolzhan. It probably also includes a recently constructed
railroad-workers settlement near the railroad station.
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facilitate grain shipments from newly cultivated lands in Ruzayevskiy
Rayon of Kokchetavskaya Oblast' and in Uritskiy and Semiozernyy Rayons
of Kustanayskaya Oblast'.
The 170-kilometer-long Shil'da-Sovkhoz Ozernyy line branches off the
Chelyabinsk-Orsk railroad. The first part of the line, covering a dis-
tance of 75 kilometers and connecting Shil''da with the previously iso-
lated settlement of Adamovka was completed by the end of August 1955.
The second section; leading from Adamovka to the large state farm
Sovkhoz Ozernyy, was only recently commissioned for freight and passen-
ger traffic.
C. Construction of New Hydroelectric Projects
The postwar construction of giant hydroelectric complexes in the
USSR has also played an important part in the development of Soviet
railroads since 190. In the European USSR, for example, the
Tsimlyansk, Kuybyshev, and Kakhovka power stations, dams, and reser-
voirs, required the) construction of some 300 kilometers of rail lines
to connect the consttruction sites with the adjacent railroad network.
The necessity for rail supply lines derives from the fact that rail-
roads provide the o ly mode of overland transport capable of (1)
handling the millions of tons of construction materials on a year-
round basis and (2)ltransporting equipment and machinery of unusually
large dimensions an. weights. These requirements virtually rule out
long-distance trans ort by river, which is seasonal, or by trucks.
The large hydroelectric projects have frequently resulted in the
creation of new through railroad lines. Originally, such lines were j
no more than supply routes for construction sites. When the dam was
completed, however,'the lines serving opposite banks of the river were
generally interconnected across the dam. In this manner, newly con-
structed dams on ma or Soviet rivers have in many cases eliminated the
need for projected railroad bridges and for costly rail-ferry services.
The hydroelectric projects listed below are examples of construction
that have altered the railroad pattern in the USSR.
Kakhovka Dam and; Reservoir. This recently completed power project
on the Dnepr River, some 60 kilometers northwest of Kherson, required
the construction of two railroad supply lines: (1) the Snigirevka-
Kakhovka line from the northwest (No. 29), and (2) the Novofederovka-
Kakhovka line from the east (No. 30). The connection of these two
approach lines by means of a rail crossing over the Dnepr dam has
created an importantregional trunkline (208 kilometers long) that
connects the Donbass; region with the Moldavian SSR and with the
Khersonskaya, Nikolayevskaya, and Odesskaya Oblasts of the Ukrainian
SSR.
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Dneprodzerzhinskiy Hydroelectric Center. To facilitate construction
of this large power complex on the Dnepr River, the USSR is planning to
build railroad supply lines both from Novomoskovsk on the Kharkov-
Dnepropetrovsk trunkline and from Verkhnedneprovsk.on the Krivoy Rog
Dnepropetrovsk trunkline. The connecting of these lines across the
future dam will create a new 70-kilometer-long bypass route (No. 31)
capable of diverting Kharkov-Krivoy Rog rail traffic from the heavily
congested lines now serving the Dnepropetrovsk industrial complex.
Kuybyshev Hydroelectric Station and Reservoir. Railroad supply
lines approach both the northern and southern ends of the huge Kuybyshev
Dam, located on the Volga River at the settlement of Zhigulevsk. Lines
serving the northern end of the dam originate at Kuybyshev and at Kinel'.
The two meet at the village of Sok and form a single approach to the dam.
The line from Kuybyshev is already in operation, but that from Kinel' is
still under construction. The southern end of the dam is connected by
rail with Syzran', located 80 kilometers west of the complex. A con-
nection of the two approaches by way of the dam would create a 220-
kilometer-long alternate route between Kinel' and Syzran', which would
bypass Kuybyshev and relieve greatly the current heavy traffic on the
Trans-Siberian trunkline between these two points (No. 32).
Stalingrad Hydroelectric Complex. A rail crossing over the recently
completed Stalingrad dam, which has been announced by the Soviets, will
provide through rail service between Stalingrad and the Caspian port of
Astrakhan' (No. 33). It will also eliminate the costly and time-consum-
ing ferry service now operating between the present rail terminals of
Prichal'naya, north of Stalingrad, and Post Paromnaya, on the left bank
of the Volga River.
Saratov Hydroelectric Station and Reservoir. This huge complex is
currently under construction at the Volga River port of Balakovo, some
130 kilometers upstream from Saratov proper. To facilitate construction
operations, a 120-kilometer-long supply line has been built from the
settlement of Pugachev to the eastern end of the dam. Plans also call
for a westerly rail approach to the dam from the river port of Vol'sk.
The connection of the two approach lines over the dam would create a new
east-west route to serve the lower and central Volga region (No. 34).
In combination with the projected line from Pugachev to Buzuluk and
Sterlitamsk, the new route would also provide an important link in the
direct rail service between Saratov and Magnitogorsk (No. 35).
Cheboksary Dam and Power Station. Plans have been made for the
construction of this hydroelectric power complex on the Volga River, but
work has not yet been started and the complex probably will not be in
operation until after 1965. To serve this complex, plans call for a rail
connection with existing lines in the area and a supply line leading
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southwestward from'; the Kazan'-Zelenodol'sk-,Golovinskiy railroad to the
construction site (No. 36)..
Siberian Hydroelectric Projects. Hydroelectric projects planned or
under construction'east of the Urals have less effect on railroad devel-
opment than those in European USSR. A single supply line generally
terminates at each; of the construction sites. Because most of the
power projects are situated in remote areas, away from the main
traffic lanes of Siberia, there is no incentive to create bypasses and
alternate rail routes using the dams'for railroad crossings.
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III. Improvement in Operations
This part of the report treats the development of those railroad
facilities that are most closely related to railroad expansion and
contribute most directly to an increase in the volume and speed of
traffic carried: (a) modernization of signaling facilities, (b)
expansion of railroad station and yard facilities, (c) electrifica-
tion, and (d) dieselization. For more detailed information on the
current status of trackage, traction, and gauge, reference should
be made to the inclosed maps 27991 and 2867+.
A. Modernization of Signaling Facilities
With the Fifth Five Year Plan, Soviet railroaders initiated a pro-
gram for modernizing signaling facilities and methods throughout rail-
road systems of the USSR. The use of semaphores and manual signaling
at intermediate points along heavily traveled double-track lines has
already been reduced materially. Semaphores are being replaced with
automatic color-light signals, spaced along the track at intervals of
2 to 2.5 kilometers. Most commonly used are the 3-aspect signals of
searchlight type, but in suburban areas a 1-aspect multilens type is
used. By the end of 1959, some 24,200 kilometers of main routes had
been equipped with automatic color-light signaling, including the
greater part of the Trans-Siberian trunkline, the heavily traveled
Pechora Railroad, and a number of rail lines connecting Moscow with
the Donbass. Along some of these routes, such as the Omsk railroad
section of the Trans-Siberian line, many locomotives are equipped
with automatic warning and braking devices that are keyed to auto-
matic signals along the track. Along electrified lines, control of
automatic color-light signals is achieved through the medium of
alternating-current coded track circuits up to about 3,000 yards in
length. By the end of 1960, Soviet plans call for the conversion to
automatic signaling of some 26,000 kilometers of railroad, including
parts of the Trans-Siberian trunkline, parts of the Turkestan-Siberian
trunkline, and a number of key lines in the Moscow, Urals, and Donbass
areas.
Manual signaling at intermediate switches along single-track lines with
heavy traffic is gradually being replaced by centralized traffic controls.
Only recently, some 1,000 signalmen were reported to have been released at
14+ of the larger railroad stations and junctions of the Donets System.
The introductio}i of centralized traffic controls (C.T.C.) on a
limited number of lines has done much to increase their capacity,
efficiency, and safety of operation. In a C.T.C. system, all points
and signals along a rail section 80 to 160 kilometers in length are
centrally controlled and operated by traffic dispatchers. By having
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full control of the movement of trains in their sectors, traffic dis-
patchers have beenlable to raise the capacity of single-track lines by
25 to 1+0 percent. `Modern traffic-control installations are of the
"all-relay" type, whereas older facilities employed manually operated
uniselector switches. With the all-relay type of control, the prep-
aration of complex routes may take no more than 10 seconds compared to
upward of 12 minutes when done by hand. As of the end of 1959, C.T.C.
is believed to be jn operation on about 2,000 kilometers of track --
mainly between Moscow and the Urals, on the Northern Railroad System,
and on some railroad lines in the Caucasus and Soviet Central Asia.
Although further shifts to C.T.C. are underway, the apparent lack of
technicians and shprtages of equipment may well keep the USSR from
meeting its 1960 goal of.8,000 kilometers of railroad under C.T.C.
operation.
Methods of controlling grade crossings are also being automated,
with considerable laving of manpower. Unattended grade crossings and
the much-used system of crossing guards are being supplemented or
replaced with flashing red-light signals and automatic barriers.
B. Expansion of Railroad Station and Yard Facilities
Much progress has been made in reconstructing and in increasing the
capacity of war-damaged railroad stations, junctions, classification
yards, and translo ding facilities. Major efforts were focused on in-
creasing freight-h ndling capacity and trackage of railroad stations
and yards located ,long heavily used east-west rail arteries. Among these,
priority was givento the following trunklines: Stalinsk-Omsk-
Chelyabinsk, Omsk-~agay-Sverdlovsk, Kurgan-Sverdlovsk, Karaganda-
Akmolinsk-Petropavovsk, Sverdlovsk-Kazan'-Moscow, Chelyabinsk-Orsk-
Orenburg-Kinel', d Chelyabinsk-Kuybyshev-Ryazan'. Along railroads
carrying heavy paenger traffic -- such as the trunklines connecting
the Central Industrial Region with the Urals, Soviet Central Asia, and
Siberia -- plans cIll for the renovation or complete reconstruction of
passenger stations that are out of date. Cities earmarked for improved
passenger-station facilities include the graving industrial centers of
Nizhniy Tagil, Mag}`itogorsk, Ufa, Tuymazy, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan, Akmolinsk,
Barnaul, Novokuznetsk, and Krasnoyarsk.
Significant strides in improving the operation and efficiency of
Soviet railroads axle also being made by developing a series of new
railroad freight terminals. Such developments are currently taking place
at Chelyabinsk, Kartaly, Petropavlovsk, Akmolinsk, Omsk, Tatarsk,
Tayga, Novokuznets1, Inskaya, and in the B&maul-Chesnokovka complex.
Other railroad terminals -- such as those at Proletarskaya, Iyangasovo,
Dema, Kuybyshev, Batraki, Ryazan', Yudino, and Arzamas -- are being
reconditioned to serve as collection and dispatching points for freight
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traffic moving from the Urals to the Volga Region and the Central Indus-
trial Region. Improvements are also planned for the crowded rail termi-
nals at Stalingrad and Saratov and within the Moscow area. Facilities at
Stalingrad and Saratov are receiving added trackage to provide increased
rail capacity. Plans for the Moscow rail complex include the establish-
ment of a new eastern classification yard, which is to be located at
Station Orekhovo.
C. Electrification
Soviet transportation planners recognize that electrification is
one of the principal means of modernizing and increasing the efficiency
of Soviet railroads. As a result of the electrification program of the
past decade, the USSR became one of the world leaders in both the length
of electrified line and in the amount of electrification underway. By
the end of 1950 the USSR possessed 3,085 kilometers of electrified
railroad. By January 1957 the figure had increased to 6,325 kilometers.
Plans call for the completion of 7,405 additional kilometers of elec-
trified track by December 1960, thus providing a total of 13,730
kilometers. By contrast, the United States currently has only some
4,000 kilometers of electrified lines. It should be noted, however,
that in the United States the emphasis since World War II has been on
converting from steam to diesel traction; furthermore the Soviet rate
of electrification has been much slower than the US rate of conversion
to diesel traction -- notwithstanding the fact that the average freight
traffic density per route kilometer in the USSR was about three times
that in the United States.
The accompanying map USSR: Railroads, 1960,* which summarizes
available information on the current status of the Soviet electrifi-
cation program, indicates that electrified lines now radiate from Moscow
in all directions, connecting the Soviet capital with Kalinin, Kiin,
Yaroslavl', Vladimir, Ryazan', Pavelets, Kursk, Aprelevka, Mozhaysk, and
Manikhino. Other concentrations of electrified lines in the European
USSR are found in the Leningrad and Kharkov-Donbass-Krivoy Rog areas,
in the Kola Peninsula, and in the Caucasus. Of particular interest is
the nearly completed electrification of the Kurak-Khar'kov stretch.
Once in operation, it will give continuous electric traction from Moscow
to Slavyansk in the Donbass. Completion of electrification work along
the Slavyansk-Gorlovka-Chaplino line will also provide electric train
service from Moscow to the industrial centers of Dnepropetrovsk, Krivoy
Rog, and Zaporozhtye. East of Moscow the electrification of railroads
is concentrated in the Urals region north of Sverdlovsk, in the Kuzbass,
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and along the Transj-Siberian trunkline west of Lake Baikal. Apparently,
the electrification of the Trans-Siberian trunkline, the country's main
east-west transportation artery, carries top priority. The target date
for electrifying the line from Moscow to the Far East is 1965. Plans
call for electric grain service between Moscow and Slyudyanka on Lake
Baikal by the end Of 1960. At present the Moscow-Ryazan', the Bazarnyy
Syzgan'-Kuybyshev-Chelyabinsk-Makushino, the Isil'-Kul'--Omsk--
Novosibirsk--Mariinsk, and the Zima-Irkutsk-Slyudyanka sections are
operating under electric traction. The Che:rnorechenskaya-Klyukvennaya
section has also been converted to electric traction, but diesels are
still being used because of a shortage of electric locomotives.
Soviet electrification plans for the future are even more impressive.
During the 10-year period from 1960 to 1970, electric traction is to
reach some 45,000 kilometers, or 30 percent of the total operational
trackage. Electrification projects include the following long-distance
lines: Irkutsk-Vladivostok; Moscow-Khar'kov-Rostov-Mineral`nyy Vody;
and Leningrad-Kotlas-Vorkuta.
Electrification has had a considerable impact on the efficiency and
capacity of Soviet: railroads. Increased speeds of freight and passenger
trains along electrified stretches have been accompanied by improved and
more frequent service. In some instances the length and weight of
freight trains have nearly doubled as a result of electric traction,
notably along the largely electrified route connecting Moscow with
Syzran', Kuybyshev, Ufa, Chelyabinsk, Omsk, Novosibirsk, and Mariinsk.
The extension of electrification has been accompanied by a corre-
sponding reduction in the demand for steam locomotives, and as early
as 1956 their production was discontinued in the USSR. There is still
no wholesale scrapping of steam locomotives and their maintenance facil-
ities, but obsolete, engines are gradually being retired or released for
export.
D. Dieselization
The use of diesel traction in the USSR is restricted largely to
Soviet Central Asia, the lower Volga Region, and the Northern Caucasus.
Diesel locomotives; were found to be especially well adapted to use in
the dry desert areas, since they could cover long distances without
requiring water orother servicing.
Diesel-powered trains were first introduced into the Soviet rail-
road system in 1932, on the Ashkhabad Railway in the Turkmen SSR.
Between 19+6 and 155 the USSR increased the length of diesel-operated
lines to 6,400 kilometers, mainly single-track lines with low to
moderate traffic densities. By the end of 1960, some 18,000 to 20,000
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kilometers of the railroad network are scheduled for dieselization. The
program is restricted largely to lines in the desert areas of Soviet
Central Asia, the Volga Region, and the Northern Caucasus that are not
scheduled for electrification but require increased traffic capacity.
as
Data available on diesel-operated lines as of 1 Jannuara summarized as well
d on
on plans for dieselizaUSaSnR?d ~ieselizationperiod
oflRail.roads.~
the accompanying map,
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IV. Evaluation of Progress
The expansion of the railroad network and improvement in operational
efficiency are integral parts of the continuing Soviet economic program.
As of 1950, railroads were operating at or near capacity and carried
about 86 percent of goods transported between points within the country
and provided over 90 percent of all transport east of the Urals. The
railroad plant at the time was therefore inadequate to meet the antic-
ipated increase in freight and passenger traffic and to service new
areas of economic development. During the period between 1950 and 1960,
great strides were made toward overcoming some of the more pressing
inadequacies; nevertheless, the accomplishments fall short of the goals
set by the Fifth and Sixth Five Year Plans.
A. Goals and Accomplishments
By the end of the Fifth Five Year Plan the over-all length of So-
viet railroads in general use amounted to 205,900 kilometers. This in-
cluded 120,700 kilometers of main line, 29,500 kilometers of second tracks,
and 55,700 kilometers of yard tracks. In addition between 5,000 and
6,000 kilometers of narrow-gauge track had been built exclusively to serve
industrial, agricultural, and lumbering operations. When compared with a
total railroad trackage of 193,600 kilometers as of January 1950 -- con-
sisting of 116,900 route-kilometers of main line, including narrow-gauge,
24,800 kilometers of second track, and approximately 51,900 kilometers of
yard track -- the 1956 figures indicate impressive progress. Nevertheless,
railroad construction on lines officially scheduled for completion during
the Fifth Five Year Plan fell short of the estimated goal of 5,600 kilo-
meters in spite of the fact that many of the lines earmarked for comple-
tion were already in their final stages of construction by the end of 1950.
Official completions of lines scheduled for the 5-year period, including
both new lines and carry-overs from the Fourth Five Year Plan, amounted to
only about 3,200 kilometers* or 57 percent of the estimated goal. The
total track laid, however, including construction on lines not scheduled
for completion until a later date, brings the total to somewhat more than
1+,000 kilometers.
Plans for the Sixth Five Year Plan (1956-60) called for the com-
pletion of about 6,500 additional kilometers of new line. Included in
this schedule were about 11,288 kilometers of newly planned lines and
991 kilometers of carry-over work from the Fifth Five Year Plan, as well
as 1,211 kilometers of carry-over work from the Fourth Five Year Plan.
* About 600 additional kilometers were transferred from other adminis-
trations to the Ministry of Transport, thus officially bringing to
3,800 kilometers the trackage added to that agency between 1951 and 1960.
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In addition, some 6,000 to 7,000 kilometers of single-track trunklines
were earmarked for double tracking. These goals were impressive, but it
is now estimated that only 67 percent of the goal for the cancelled
Sixth Five Year Pl n will be met by 1960. Considerable difficulty in
construction was encountered in 1956, and the rate of progress in more
recent years (both in lines completed and under construction) indicates
that probably no more than 4,300 kilometers of the original goals will
be attained by the end of 1960.
Although falling short of the original goals set forth for both
Five Year Plans, the construction program has still made progress suf-
ficient to (1) permit an increase in traffic capacity along railroad
lines that had already been operating at near capacity levels in 1950,
(2) divert traffic in certain commodities from heavily utilized trunk-
lines, and (3) meet some of the traffic demands in areas of recent
economic expansion.`
Because areas undergoing intensive development received top
priority, railroad construction has been particularly evident in the
Urals-Lake Baikal region. Several new east-west-oriented rail lines
built and placed in operation have provided alternate routes to the
heavily traveled Trans-Siberian trunkline and new traffic links between
the Kuzbass, and New Lands area, and the Urals industrial region. Not-
able among these routes are the Barnaul-Stalinsk and Stalinsk-Abakan
sections of the south-Siberian trunkline and the Tayshet-Lena line, which
provides direct connection between the Lena and Angara River basins and
the Trans-Siberian trunkline as well as completed sections of the Central-
Siberian trunkline.
Farther south, the construction of the Mointy-Chu line in
Kazakhstan provided an important north-south rail connection between the
South-Siberian and %lurkestan-Siberian trunklines, thus not only relieving
the Turkestan-Siberian railroad of much of the burden of shipping coal
from the Kuzbass toithe Alma-Ata area but also shortening the haul from
2,100 kilometers to1,000 kilometers. The international trunkline to
China via Soviet Kazakhstan has also been completed as far as the inter-
national boundary. With the completion of the Chinese section, this
trunkline will not only divert much of the Chinese traffic from the con-
gested Trans-Siberian trunkline but also will reduce the rail distances
between Moscow and Peking by about 1,100 kilometers.
In European' USSR, 'in particular, much has been accomplished in
providing supply lines to hydroelectric and other major construction
projects; many serve, in addition, as important links in the railroad
network and permit traffic to bypass areas of heavy traffic density.
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Concurrently with the construction of new rail lines, the USSR
emphasized the improvement of operating efficiency to the over-
Electrification
carrying capacity of Soviet railroads.
zation of traction have increased the capacity by permitting gaeatereli-
speed and the use of longer trains. Modernization s fasignaialllinging f acilli-
-
ties have further contributed to speed of opza
ing facilities and railroad-yard operation have made possible more rapid
handling of freight. Greater efficiency in operation has already eased
congestion at Moscow, Kuybyshev, Kiev, Novosibirsk, Sverdlovsk, and other
key railroad centers in the country.
B. Continuing Inadequacies
Although the improvement and expansion of existing rail facili-
and passenger traffic capacities of So-
ties have increased the freight transportation demands of the Soviet
viet railroads, the ever-growing Consequently, rail lines
economy have kept pace with these increases. were is
are generally operating at high capacity in 1960, much as they
1950. An analysis of the 1960 network also reveals a number of railroad
Plansf but remedialdmeasuresconsid-
inadequacies that have not been solved.
eration for the Fifth and Sixth Five Year
were not started. For example, the much-discussed Astrakhan'-Gur'yev e and re link across the northern end of fromCtheiaUkz'ainewand theclowertVolga to
duce the cost of rail shipments Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The lack of a direct rail link fromrtt e
Moscow area to the Turkmen anraid western via a
e through Orenburg and Tashkent. A new trunkline from
circuitous rSroute has necessitated
and Kun.grad would shorten rail
Saratov to Chardzhou via Aleksandrov Gay approximately 1,000 kilometers.
traffic between Moscow and Ashkhabad by app trunkline
an alternate Use of the much-heralded CentatheiU~alsnand Kuznetsaindustrial region
route for rail traffic between
is also denied because of the failure to complete bridge ~hacroosss thna
Irtysh and Ob' Rivers and a key section of the route
-- which is still in an early stage of construction.
Obi--Barna,ul section slow in achieving the much-discussed
Finally, progress has been extremely Vorku objective of a direct rail connection between
indthe Ko llregion inttherunk-
line and rail lines serving the Sverdlovsk
Urals.
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V. Comparative Trends in United States and Soviet Railroad Systems
The United States was far?;ahead of the USSR in both the size and
operational efficiency of its railroad network at the end of 1959. The
US network of main-line railroads (354,000 route kilometers) is almost
three times as large as the entire Soviet rail network (estimated at
122,300 route kilometers). In modernization of railroad facilities and
traction the United States leads the USSR. US terminal facilities are
extensive and well mechanized, and automatic block signals are used
along some 48 percent of the total route mileage. In the USSR, less
than half of the 85 existing hump yards are modernized, and automatic
block signals are installed on only about 6 percent of the main-line rail
network. In the United States, dieselization is virtually complete. So-
viet railroads, on the other hand, are largely steam operated, diesel and
electric traction still accounting for only about 11 percent of the total
mileage.
Closer comparison of the two railroad systems, however, reveals that
the Soviets are reducing the over-all lead of the United States and have
already exceeded it in traffic output because of the growing importance
of other modes of transportation in the United States. The Soviet rail
network, although only one-third as large as that of the United States,
already handles more freight and passengers per year than all US rail-
roads. In 1957, for example, when US railroads carried a total of 941
billion ton-kilometers of freight, the Soviet rail system hauled 1,213
billion ton-kilometers. This disparity increased further in 1958, when
the number of ton-kilometers dropped to 839 billion in the United States
but increased to 1,302 billion in the USSR. The average density of
freight traffic in 1958 in terms of ton-kilometers per kilometer of rail
line was 10.7 million in the USSR compared with about 2.4 million in the
United States. At the same time, passenger traffic in the USSR was approx-
imately three times greater than in the United States. In 1956, Soviet
railroads carried a total of 1,658 million passengers. Of this total,
however, 80 percent was urban traffic -- mostly workers commuting to their
jobs.
To handle the heavy freight and passenger traffic, the USSR will con-
tinue to operate its railroads at near capacity. Railroads still carry
about 85 percent of the total volume of all inland and domestic coastal
freight. Although roads, inland waterways, and coastal maritime trans-
port are currently being improved, the rail share of the traffic load
probably will not be reduced appreciably until after 1970. The present
Soviet program of modernization should result in steadily increasing
traffic capacity as well as operational efficiency.
In contrast, the volume of railroad traffic in the United States is
declining somewhat. The 354,000 kilometers of main line operated in the
United States in 1959 represent a decrease of 51,500 route kilometers
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from the 405,600 operated in 1900. Currently, US railroads operate con-
siderably below fuli capacity. They carry somewhat less than 1$0 percent
of the total volume; of inland and coastal freight traffic. The decline
is even more apparent in passenger traffic. The downward trend of US
railroading is caused largely by the greater availability of trucks,
buses, trailers, passenger automobiles, and pipelines and by the shift
of traffic to the highly developed highway system.
The USSR also ecceeds the United States in the total number of loco-
motives available, but those in the United States are chiefly modern
diesels. At the end, of 1958 the United States had 27,575 such locomo-
tives available co ared to an estimated 2,777 in the Soviet Union. In
the number of elect is and steam engines, the USSR leads. The United
States had 556 electric and 1,350 steam engines, whereas the USSR had
2,022 and 31,680, respectively. By the end of 1959, the United States
had practically no oteam locomotives in use.. In the USSR the number of
steam locomotives hid been reduced to 28,448, and the number of electric
locomotives had incireased to 2,500.
Continued intenpe utilization of its railroads provides the Soviet
Union with initial ptrategic advantages at the onset of hostilities,
when the movement of troops, weapons, and supplies of all sorts would
depend almost entirely on the immediate access to operational equipment
and an efficient and extensive rail network -- in border areas as well
as in the interior legions of the country. On the other hand the So-
viet rail system currently has little or no slack to take on the in-
creased load of supporting prolonged large-scale military operations
without curtailing the flow of nonmilitary traffic.
Of greater importance is the potential the Soviet rail network pro-
vides for supporti a guided-missile deployment system throughout the
USSR. Without spec,al arrangements, most of the rail network can pres-
ently transport cylindrical objects up to 12 or 13 feet in diameter and
about 80 feet in length or objects of a somewhat smaller diameter and
greater length. From a military point of view, the United States rail
network still possesses most of the tremendous logistic capability it
had during World Wa& II, when railroads doubled their freight volume
and more than tripled their passenger volume without any appreciable
increase in the railroad plant. In the United States, however, the
continued decline ih rail operations is currently reducing the logistic
capability, whereasthat of the USSR is increasing.
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