CONSTRUCTION OF RAILWAYS AND RAIL FACILITIES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R002000350007-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 26, 2011
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: November 9, 1948
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT______________
NFORMATKCK`Effl~iORT
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Construction of Railways and Rail Facilities
PLACE
ACQUIRE
OF THE UNITED STATI$ WtTHtFO THE STAtHI0 UP enn ?ar-wiavu w..~ ~.+
s C.. It AND 32. AS AHEHDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR THE ktVE1.ATION
J
.
Lin.: iza USSR
1. The railway construction program of the present Five Year Plan is being carried
out chiefly on the railway lines of the Urals, Siberia, and the Donetz Basin,
where industry is rapidly developing and railway traffic is growing heavier.
During the last two and a half years, a considerable amount of construction
work has been done on Soviet railways, e.g., a second track has been laid on
the i.ioscow 14orthern Caucasus line (more than 1000 kms), thereby ensuring
the transport of Donetz fuel and increasing; the transport capacity of the
line.
to the pre-war level of technical development in 1948.
3. The beginning of 1948 was marked by the opening of a new mountain railway from
strovka to Rybache In Kirgiziya, ..!hich is the prolongation of the Kant-j
Bystrovka line. This new railway has linked the center of Kirgiziya with
the rich and fertile areas on the shores of Lake IssykkKul.
k. Work is in progress on the two most important sections of the future South,
Siberian main line, viz., Stalinek Barnaul and A3molinskoPavlodar. At present,
tracks are being laid through the Salair Range, where a large tunnel is under
construction. Houses for the first railway workers of the future main line
have been built at the stations Sorokino, Smaznevo, and others. These workers
are at present servicing the traffic on those parts of this line which have
already been completed,
5. Restoration work on a large scale is being carried out in 1948 on the railway
lines of the Donetz Basin, seriously damaged by the Germans. The development
of the railway network inside the Donetz has made it possible to increase
coal transports. The builders have undertaken to bring the Donetz railways
CLASSIFICATION ft8A=9():-,TR0L?U3 oPFICIiLS ONLY
STaTE NAVY NSRB DISTRIBUTION
ARMY ti }AIR
Document No. 0 `
NO CHANGE in Class. ^
SF_ _R __ ^ DECLASSIFIED
;~ pL7 Class. CHANGED TO: TS S
DATE DISTR. November 19i4-5
NO. OF PAGES
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION FOR THE RESEARCH
USE OF TRAINED INTELLIGENCE ANALYSTS
DDA Memo, 4 7
Auth: DD xE 50X1-HUM
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F?' ' ;W,? 0NTRcOL,US OPFIOI - ONLY
CE1 ill . GE AGENCY
6. A line is under construction between Ishimbr1?V0(53?27'Ns 56?021E) and.
7e?molayev+. (52?l2?%e 55?'B)
7. Construction of the Ohardsbou (39?058N, 63?351E) d Kungrad (L2?451N. 58?201E)
line in Central Asia was began this year. Forty-six kcne of track have already
been laid. In the near future the laying of the track of the new main line
will begin in the sands of Kara-tea. The builders have undertaken to open
traffic on the section between the 212th kilometer halt and the Dargamata
station for the 31st October Anaiversar . The new Chardshou"Kungrad line
will establish railway communication with Tashaus Oblast (Turkmen SSR)fl
rem Oblast (Usbek SSR) o and Kara K al pak ASSR.
EA-SkWol
A;i
. Since the summer of 1946, the railway line Grodno-Leningrad has been under
construction. There is one Russian gauge track and one normal gauge.
50X1-HUM
9. The line Pilna.PNinsk was remade in 1945, also with one track for each .
0. Similarly there are tracks for two gauges on the Przesi??v line* but it
is not known how mach further east this continues.
:1. Chorsov-Przeisl was at one time constructed for both gauges, but now is
only standard garde.
2. A provisional solution to the difficulty presented by bridges is that trains
do not pass on bridges, and. there are only three rails for both gauges, not
four as on the rest of the line.
1.3. There is no European gauge track on the line between sk and Brest-
Litovsk.
1,4. The German electric locomotives which have been concentrated near Brest-
Litovsk for some considerable time are destined for the electrified rail s
in the Kagnitogorok area. The tracks in this area have not been converted
to European gauge, but are all Russian gauge.
1.5. The German locomotives are mostly either "Sta enantriebs-Lokomotivenne or
"Lin.selacl-santrieblokomotiven" (single-'axle drive locomotive). In consul-
tation with German locomotive firms and after through investigation, the
Soviets established the possibility of converting the locomotives to Russian
-gauge. A number have already been converted successfully and have been driven
off to the Magnitogorsk area. Work on the rest is in progress; the locomotives
are then sent to the US when, the conversion has taken place.
26.
2be current Five Year Plan has already converted some of the formerly obscure
sidl s and halts into large freight stations and railway junctions serving
impo.. ant industrial enterprises:
a. Formerly only one train stopped at the Rustavi siding on the Trans-
Caucasian railway, tut since the erection of the Trans-Caucasian
Metallurgical Works this siding has been enlarged and equipped with
additional tracks, an automatic blocking systems and powerful electric
locomotives.
0y? jd1CL 3 ONLY
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G01't ~I u~ 59 `i~ uz
be The small railway station Stepfaaka (sic) of the Western Railway in
Belorussia is being transformed into a large railway jwotiona New
industrial enterprises (motor car, bicycles and metal construction
works) are now being built round this station.
50X1-HUM
Work continues on the restoration of the following railway j tions*.
Kupgan k
rrasz'l3man.
Dobaltsevo
Tasinovataya (Yaeinovovtoroye?)
Li a
Ra a
17, The follc'wing railway car
Poltava
I
Sta nislavov
Rostov
zhaarlmv
Qtroshsk
Roalavl
and locomotive repair works have been restored.s
18. a. Bieatrification has been completed on the line Rioni-Tkvibuli in
Transcaucasia..
b. Work continues on the electrification of the following sectors*.
N izhd insk - Baa slovek (Sverdlovsk Railway)
filkopol - Dol, intsevo (Krivoi Rog District)
Alk=IA
19. The electrification of the roman: railway is proceeding very slowly because
of the extreme severity of the working conditions. There is no proper
housing or feeding for the workers, and oquipment is inadequate. Bricks
and lime, for instances are unloaded without gloves
Desertions among laborers is considerable. It is officially admitted that
?$? persons "voluntarily left" the Sibstroiput Trust in the five months preceding
Any. et 1948.
AAUXV_M1
20. On the coastal railway, which connects t iori, Dsintari aM $ulduri stations
with Riga, the second track has been opened to traffic. As yet, the maximum
wed of trains running on this track is 17- Pe Traffic its very
irregular and aloes not conform to the time- table. Gomm a This
report probably refers to the local train or tram, gar o the Rig" 50X1-HUM
Yens ils (Wi ?) line which serves the Riga summer bathing resorts-.
. ,_Wjf CO OL p'S "O1 IaIA O
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OFFICIALS ONLY
C I r LIG GX AGENCY
Nyazan. Moscow Donbas, and Form railees.
50X1-HUM
Considerable attention is being devoted IV the authorities to the installation
of radio-telegraph communications on the railwe7e. Until quite recently. the
radio-transmissiof network was comprised of only 1.160 points. At preeeuto
there are 2.700 points in operation. The installation of radio equipment in
the Douetz district is more complete than that of the Stalingrad. l4osco'.i 4
.% FONI-7S OFFICIALS O
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