Trains begin to travel through new double-track Kerak tunnel in Amur Region

A ceremony has been held to mark the inauguration of the new double-track Kerak tunnel in the Amur Region in Russia’s Far East and the beginning of train services. The ceremony took place in Moscow on 15 December 2023 as part of the IV Railway Congress.

The Kerak tunnel is located on the Kovali-Ulruchyi section in the Amur region of the Trans-Siberian Railway. It was laid 25 m from the old one. The length of the new tunnel is 926 m.

Construction was completed 9 months ahead of schedule. The work took place under challenging conditions, including drilling and excavating through strong rocks and two geological faults simultaneously. Some 550 people worked at the site every day, and over 100 pieces of special equipment were used.

As part of the construction, almost 2,000 metres of track and 116 km of communication networks were laid, about 1 million cubic metres excavated, and more than 10 km of overhead contact networks installed.

The investment in the construction work amounted to 14.7 billion roubles.

The new tunnel will increase the speed of trains and increase the carrying capacity of the Bamovskaya – Belogorsk section of the Trans-Siberian Railway from 120 million to 131 million tons of freight per year, which will allow Russian Railways to increase traffic volumes in the direction of the Far East and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.