The Abakan-Taishet Railway is a railway built between 1959 and 1965, connecting

Abakan Abakan (russian: Абака́н, p=ɐbɐˈkan; Khakas: , ''Ağban''/, ''Abaxan'') is the capital city of the Republic of Khakassia, Russia, located in the central part of Minusinsk Depression, at the confluence of the Yenisei and Abakan Rivers. A ...

with

Tayshet Tayshet ( rus, Тайшет, p=tɐjˈʂɛt, lit. ''cold river'' in the Kott language) is a town and the administrative center of Tayshetsky District in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located northwest of Irkutsk, the administrative center of the oblast ...

on the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...

. It lies in

Krasnoyarsk Krai Krasnoyarsk Krai ( rus, Красноя́рский край, r=Krasnoyarskiy kray, p=krəsnɐˈjarskʲɪj ˈkraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), with its administrative center in the city of Krasnoyarsk, the third-largest city in Siber ...

along with parts of the

Republic of Khakassia Khakassia (russian: Хакасия; kjh, Хакасия, Хакас Чирі, ''Khakasiya'', ''Khakas Çiri''), officially the Republic of Khakassia (russian: Республика Хакасия, r=Respublika Khakasiya, ; kjh, Хакас Рес ...

and

Irkutsk Oblast Irkutsk Oblast (russian: Ирку́тская о́бласть, Irkutskaya oblast; bua, Эрхүү можо, Erkhüü mojo) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of the Angara, Lena, and Nizh ...

. 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 The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...

shock construction project Shock construction projects (russian: Ударные стройки, translit=udarnyye stroyki) also Komsomol shock construction projects was a Soviet propaganda term used for certain construction projects by Komsomol shock brigades in the Soviet ...

, and young workers came from all parts of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

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

Novokuznetsk Novokuznetsk ( rus, Новокузнецк, p=nəvəkʊzˈnʲɛt͡sk; literally: "new smith's", cjs, Аба-тура, ''Aba-tura'') is a city in Kemerovo Oblast (Kuzbass) in south-western Siberia, Russia. It is the second largest city in the obla ...

Route

The length of the Abakan-Taishet Railway is , while the length of the whole Novokuznetsk-Taishet Railway is . From

to Kuragino, the railway goes in the easterly direction, through

Minusinsk Hollow Minusinsk Basin or Khakass-Minusinsk Basin (russian: Минусинская (Хакасско-Минусинская) котловина, ''Minusinskaya (Chakassko-Minusinskaya) kotlovina'') is in Khakassia and Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia locate ...

, 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 The Sayan Mountains (russian: Саяны ''Sajany''; mn, Соёны нуруу, ''Soyonï nurû''; otk, 𐰚𐰇𐰏𐰢𐰤, Kögmen) are a mountain range in southern Siberia, Russia (Buryatia, Irkutsk Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Tuva Republic ...

. After Sayanskaya Station, the railway goes east, south of and parallel to the Trans-Siberian Railway, for around to the city of Taishet, where it ends.

Construction

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 Nizhneudinsk ( rus, Нижнеу́динск, p=nʲɪʐnʲɪˈudʲɪnsk; bua, Доодо-Үдэ, ''Doodo-Üde'') is a town and the administrative center of Nizhneudinsky District of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Uda River (Yenisei's ba ...

routes were considered the best.

External links

Дорога сквозь годы

* ttp://www.rzd-expo.ru/history/Abakan-Taishet/ Трасса мужества (Строительство трассы Абакан-Тайшет)
"Трасса мужества «Абакан — Тайшет» отмечает свой юбилей — Новости

Rail transport in Khakassia Railway lines in Russia {{Russia-rail-transport-stub