The Sakha Republic (Yakutia) is the largest subject of the Russian Federation being only slightly smaller than India in land territory and is rich in natural resources.

By 2030 further development of rail infrastructure in Yakutia and the Magadan region envisages the  construction of a strategic railway line from Nizhny Bestyakh to Magadan.

In the longer term, it is also planned to integrate the Chukotka and Kamchatka regions of Russia’s northeast into the country’s railway network. The immediate next stage is to construct a combined road and rail bridge over the Lena river to connect the line to Yakutsk, the capital of the autonomous Republic.

With a link now established between Sakha (Yakutia) and the Russian network to handle the increasing volume of rail freight, the rapid development of the BAM and Trans-Siberian has become even more urgent, RZD has said.

As part of its own investment programme, Russian Railways is continuing to upgrade the rail network in stages, including the infrastructure of the Baikal-Amur Main Line, in order to handle the future volumes of freight traffic forecast with the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

Presdent Medvedev views a model of the planned bridge across the Lena River before the opening ceremony for the Berkakit-Tommot-Nizhny Bestyakh railway line. With President of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Yegor Borisov (right) and Transport Minister Igor Levitin.