The Northern Latitudinal Railway is a route to the future

The government of Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and “Russian Railways” concluded the agreement about joint fulfillment of the project of the Northern Latitudinal Railway. For 2018-2022 the sides planned building of the railroad line on the route Obskaya – Salekhard – Nadym – Khorey – Pangody – Noviy Urengoy – Korotchayevo with the total length 707 kilometers and adjoining infrastructure. The governor of the region connects further prospects of Yamal with the arctic transport corridor – the project “The Northern Latitudinal Railway”.

“We have precise borders of fulfillment of the project “The Northern Latitudinal Railway”. As for the route Bovanenkovo – Sabetta, we do not have “the road map” yet, but we started designing the road, this year the expert evaluation will be completed”, as Dmitriy Kobylkin notes. It is planned to start fulfillment of the project “The Northern Latitudinal Railway” in 2018, to finish – in 2022. To a question, why progress in issues of fulfillment of the project took place exactly today, the head of the arctic region answered the following: “More likely it happened because serious import substitution in the country was started. Today it is important to create as more working places as possible and to be competitive in the world. Of course, transport infrastructure is necessary for this. The Trans-Siberian Railway is loaded very much, and its load should be decreased, and the Northern Latitudinal Railway is the project, which is the most prepared for fulfillment”. In the opinion of the governor of Yamal, the arctic transport corridor will open the shortest approach to the Northern Sea Route for the country, will increase transport security of Russia, will provide timely and full-scale fulfillment of the state strategy on development of the Russian arctic zone, will strengthen geopolitical and macroeconomic positions of the country in the Arctic. According to the agreement between “Russian Railways” and the government of Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the project will be fulfilled with attracting of funds of investors on the concessional scheme. Dmitriy Kobylkin notes that the set of documents about concluding of the concessional agreement, including its project, business-plan, a financial model of the project, is sent for scrutinizing to the government of the Russian Federation for taking a decision about concluding of the concession. “We together with the government of the country will sign the concessional agreement with all the participants, who will participate in the project. More likely, after this concessional agreement the governmental decree, maybe, the presidential decree will be issued – a document, which tells everyone, what to do, precisely by hours. All trading sessions and further building processes will be conducted by “Russian Railways”. I call them the flagman of the Northern Latitudinal Railway”, as Dmitriy Kobylkin says. It means that all the participants of the project unique by its scales will have precise idea about each stage. The concession participant should take building of a railroad part of bridges with approaches across the rivers Ob and Nadym and also the sector of the railroad line Salekhard-Nadym at the expenses of own and attracted funds. The Northern Railway, a branch of “Russian Railways”, will reconstruct the sector Pangody - Noviy Urengoy - Korotchayevo. Yamal takes construction of a motor-road part of the bridge across of the Ob River and also will allocate land plots necessary for building of the railroad to federal property, will provide access of builders to water objects and forest areas, will give tax privileges. According to the forecast, the amount of transportations on the Northern Latitudinal Railway, predominantly gas condensate and petroleum cargoes, will make 23 million and 900 thousand tons per year. As the governor of Yamal underlines, the project “The Northern Latitudinal Railway” is long-term and complicated. Maximum comfortable conditions are made for work for the region. Any help will be given. As for the bridge across the Ob River, the region allocates 8 milliard rubles of 60 milliard rubles, as the governor notes. The bridge across the Ob River as one of components of the Northern Latitudinal Railway, according to the words of the head of Yamal, will become unique: “The bridge across the Ob River does not have analogues by weight of cargoes, the river has the second riverbed – this is a problem. I think that after Kerch Strait building companies will receive competences, and will be able to solve these problems. As for a railroad part of the bridge across the Nadym River, then it needs 5 months in order to finish it at timely financing. It can be completed in 2021, just it is impossible to build to “nowhere”. It is important that the road would be a component of some linear part”, as the governor explains. Dmitriy Kobylkin underlines significance of the Northern Latitudinal Railway for Yamal: “along the whole route there is big amount of small oil and gas fields. They have to wait for very high price for oil and gas. Because at existing prices it is extremely unprofitable to transport extracted raw materials from there. When the railroad line is built, the problem will be solved. An even at the price of a barrel of oil 40 dollars it will be possible to sell it and to create necessary production capacities.