Abakan–Taishet Railway

The Abakan-Taishet Railway is a railway built between 1959 and 1965, connecting Abakan with Tayshet on the Trans-Siberian Railway. It lies in Krasnoyarsk Krai along with parts of the Republic of Khakassia and Irkutsk Oblast. The line is a continuation of the Novokuznetsk - Abakan Railway which was built between 1949 and 1950. Construction of the Abakan-Taishet Railway was announced as a Komsomol shock construction project, and young workers came from all parts of the Soviet Union to build the line.

Abakan–Taishet Railway
Overview
LocaleRussia
Technical
Track gauge1,520 mm (4 ft 11+2732 in) Russian gauge

Distances to points along the line are measured in kilometers beginning at Novokuznetsk.

Route edit

Yuzhno–Sibirskaya
main line
 
 
Saratov
 
 
to Rtishevo & Liski
 
Sennaya
 
 
 
Ryabina
 
Syzran-Gorod
 
 
 
← to Samara│to Inza →
 
Krasny Galyai
 
 
to Inza
 
Ulyanovsk
 
Volga river
 
Almetyevskaya
 
 
to Agryz & Izhevsk
 
Tuimazy
 
 
to Ufa
 
Davlekanovo
 
Tolbazy
 
Krasnousolsky
 
Tukan
 
 
to Ufa
 
Magnitogorsk
 
 
 
Kartaly II
 
 
Tobol
 
Astana I
 
 
 
Ereimentau
 
Sputnik
 
Irtysh river
 
Pavlodar
 
 
 
 
Kulunda
 
Novoblagoveshenskaya
 
Lenki
 
Korchino
 
Rebrikha
 
Saarajsky
 
 
to Aktogay & Almaty
 
Barnaul
 
 
 
to Biisk
 
Altaiskaya
 
 
to Srednesibirskaya
& Novosibirsk
 
Altysta II
 
Terentyevskaya
 
tomusinskaya
 
Mezhdurechensk
 
Puzhba
 
Askiz
 
Kamyshta
 
Abakan
 
Kurgiino
 
Zhuravlevo
 
Mana
 
Kravchenko
 
Sayanskaya
 
Irbeyskaya
 
Agul
 
Abokumovka
 
Tumashet
 
 
Trans-Siberian Railway
to Krasnoyarsk
 
Tayshet
 
 
Chita II
 
Trans-Siberian Railway
to Khabarovsk & Vladivostok
 
Map of Abakan-Taishet railway
Korotchaevo–
Tomsk line
Barnaul branch
 
to Surgut & Korotchaevo
 
Yunosti-Komsomol
 
 
 
Malaya Bicha
 
Ust-Ishim
 
Tevriz
 
Znamenskoe
 
Tara
 
 
to Tomsk & Asino
 
Rezino
 
Ust-Tarka
 
 
 
 
to Tatarsk
& Omsk
to Novosibirsk
& Yurga →
 
Korotkoozyorny
 
Gorkoozerny
 
Tabulga
 
Chistoozernooye
 
Kupino
 
Bagan
 
Savkino
 
 
 
Osolodino
 
Karasuk I
 
Chumansky
 
Burla
 
Slavgorod
 
Tabuny
 
 
to Astana & Tobol
 
Kulunda
 
 
Barnaul
 

The length of the Abakan-Taishet Railway is 647 kilometres (402 mi), while the length of the whole Novokuznetsk-Taishet Railway is 1,034 kilometres (642 mi). From Abakan to Kuragino, the railway goes in the easterly direction, through Minusinsk Hollow, through a forested area to arrive at Kuragino station. From Kuragino to Sayanskaya Station, the railway goes to the north-east, passing through Eastern Sayan Mountains. After Sayanskaya Station, the railway goes east, south of and parallel to the Trans-Siberian Railway, for around 250 kilometres (160 mi) to the city of Taishet, where it ends.

Construction edit

The idea of building a railroad through the Sayan Mountains first came about in the nineteenth century. However, study of the character of the terrain repeatedly caused the project to be rejected. Experts of the time believed the project to be infeasible due to the difficult terrain.

Planning for the line did not resume until 1935. Five routes were proposed, of which the Tayshet and Nizhneudinsk routes were considered the best.

External links edit