russian: Строительство № 507
, image = Profile_of_Sakhalin_tunnel.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Planned profile of the Sakhalin Tunnel , line = Baikal-Amur Mainline and

Sakhalin Railway Sakhalin Railway (russian: Сахалинская железная дорога) is one of the railway division under Far Eastern Railway that primarily serves in Sakhalin Island. Due to its island location, the railway becomes the second isolated ...

, location =

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

(

Sakhalin Oblast Sakhalin Oblast ( rus, Сахали́нская о́бласть, r=Sakhalínskaya óblast', p=səxɐˈlʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast) comprising the island of Sakhalin and the K ...

, and

Khabarovsk Krai Khabarovsk Krai ( rus, Хабаровский край, r=Khabarovsky kray, p=xɐˈbarəfskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is geographically located in the Russian Far East and is a part of the Far Eastern Federal District ...

) , coordinates = , system = OAO RZhD , status = Postpone project , crosses =

Nevelskoy Strait The Nevelskoy Strait (russian: Пролив Невельско́го) is a strait within the Strait of Tartary located at the narrowest point between Sakhalin and the Asian mainland. The Nevelskoy Strait is administratively part of Russia on the b ...

, start = Cape Lazarev , end = Cape Pogibi , stations = , startwork = September 6, 1950 , opened = , closed = May 26, 1953 , owner = , operator = , traffic = Railway , character = freight , length = , linelength = , tracklength = , notrack = single-track , gauge = (

Russian gauge Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

) , el = , speed = , hielevation = , lowelevation = , height = , grade = , map = Sachalintunnel en

The Sakhalin Tunnel (russian: Сахалинский тоннель) is an incomplete and currently postponed construction project, which after completion would connect the island of

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...

with mainland

via a tunnel of approximately under the

(the narrowest part of the

Strait of Tartary Strait of Tartary or Gulf of Tartary (russian: Татарский пролив; ; ja, 間宮海峡, Mamiya kaikyō, Mamiya Strait; ko, 타타르 해협) is a strait in the Pacific Ocean dividing the Russian island of Sakhalin from mainland Asia ...

History

Early proposals and planning

The concept of a tunnel under the Nevelskoy Strait has existed since the 19th century, although it was never seriously pursued due to economic reasons. Studies into the feasibility of the project were first undertaken by 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 ...

in the late 1930s, although

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

made progress at this time impossible.

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

later announced in 1950 his intention to build a railway link to Sakhalin, either via

rail ferry A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ...

, a

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

, or a

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

. A decision to construct a tunnel was announced by the Soviet government on May 5, 1950, along with a rail ferry link to serve as a temporary solution. The project was intended primarily to serve a military purpose, allowing better connection between Sakhalin and the mainland for sections of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

stationed on the island.

Construction

The construction of the railway connection from

Selikhino Selikhino ( rus, Селихино) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in Komsomolsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. Population: Geography Selikhino is located by lake Khummi, on the Baikal-Amur Mainline railway, shortly after the railwa ...

near

Komsomolsk-on-Amur Komsomolsk-on-Amur ( rus, Комсомольск-на-Амуре, r=Komsomolsk-na-Amure, p=kəmsɐˈmolʲsk nɐɐˈmurʲə) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located on the west bank of the Amur Rive ...

to the intended mainland tunnel portal at Cape Lazarev was assigned to the Soviet

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

, with the Ministry of Transport in charge of the tunnel itself. In 1952, the project was transferred to the full management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The planned route on Sakhalin was intended to run from Cape Pogibi, where the tunnel should resurface, to the then northern terminus of the Sakhalin rail network at Pobedino (formerly known as "Koton" under Japanese rule), north of

Smirnykh Smirnykh (russian: Смирных) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Smirnykhovsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, located in the central part of the Sakhalin Island. Population: History Du ...

. The length of the tunnel between Cape Pogibi and Cape Lazarev was planned to be around . On the mainland, a rail line was to be constructed to the railway connecting Komsomolsk-on-Amur with Sovetskaya Gavan, now a section of the Baikal-Amur Mainline. The project was planned for completion by the end of 1953 and to be in full operation by the end of 1955. Annual goods traffic on the line was projected to reach four million tonnes. The project included three separate constructions—mainland and island railway links, connecting with the rest of railroad network (Building 507 and 506 respectively) and tunnel itself (Building 6 of the MPS). Railway characteristics were very poor; in fact, it was a temporary railway, which was to be followed by capital rebuilding after construction. Tunnel works (Building 6 of MPS) were a different story. It was to be constructed by military engineers and Metrostroy tunnel specialists. After the death of Stalin, work on the project stopped, with the tunnel allegedly almost halfway across the straits, although later investigation has shown that just two

shafts ''Shafts'' was an English feminist magazine produced by Margaret Sibthorp from 1892 until 1899. Initially published weekly and priced at one penny, its themes included votes for women, women's education, and radical attitudes towards vivisection, ...

were built. The shafts have a depth of about 55 meters and a diameter of about 9 meters, with the trunk concreted and lined with cast-iron tubing, fastened to each other by bolts. While the reasons for cancellation of the project are not fully clear, some sources have indicated that because of numerous amnesties granted to prisoners after Stalin's death, there was no longer the required workforce. Tunnel workers waited eight months after cancellation, but without linking railways, the tunnel had no purpose.

Completed sections of the project

Around of track along the right bank of the

Amur River The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...

from

to Chyorny Mys was completed, although this was still well short of the planned tunnel entrance at Cape Lazarev. The Selikhino-Chyorny Mys railway was later used for transport of lumber by the Soviet forestry industry, but was closed in the 1990s and the track has been largely dismantled. Remains of the tunnel entrance are still visible around Cape Lazarev. No new track was built on Sakhalin, although preparatory earthworks on the planned route were used in the construction of a road from Nysh to Pogibi.

Current operations and future prospects

Since 1973, a

train ferry A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train f ...

has connected Vanino (on the mainland near Sovetskaya Gavan) with the town of

Kholmsk Kholmsk (russian: Холмск), known until 1946 as Maoka ( ja, 真岡), is a port town and the administrative center of Kholmsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. It is located on the southwest coast of the Sakhalin Island, on coast of the g ...

on Sakhalin. Even after the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, there have been calls from politicians for a revival of the project, although there have been concerns that its cost would outweigh the benefits. However, there have been signs that the link is under serious consideration, including an announcement of support from Russian President

Dimitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...

in November 2008. The project is proposed to be completed by 2030. On January 16, 2009, it was suggested by the Russian government the link could be completed with a bridge, rather than tunnel, and far northerly route. New plans would see the connection in Sakhalin at

Nogliki Nogliki (russian: Ноглики) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Nogliksky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, located near the eastern coast of Sakhalin Island, about inland from the Sea of O ...

, which has in the meantime been connected to the island's rail network. In 2019, work was completed to convert the island's

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

rail system, a legacy of the previous Japanese administration of the southern half of the island, to the broader Russian standard gauge. There have also been proposals to connect the southern tip of Sakhalin to the Japanese island of

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

via a bridge or tunnel, providing a direct land transport link for container traffic from Japan to the Asian mainland and Europe. In July 2018, Russia's president Vladimir Putin commissioned an analysis of a proposal to build a bridge from the Russian mainland to Sakhalin on the northernmost part of the

. Putin said that the project was very important for Sakhalin residents and would be a major factor in encouraging people to remain in the region. It would also boost the development of Khabarovsk Territory. He said that he had instructed the government to analyze this matter, particularly its economic aspects.

References