The State Approves Construction

Central Committee of the CPSU; Council of Ministers of the USSR, On the Construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline. July 8, 1974

This joint decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR formally launched the modern BAM project, authorizing 3,145 kilometers of new railway across Eastern Siberia and the Far East. Signed by Brezhnev and Kosygin, it set construction deadlines, allocated 3.57 billion rubles, established Glavbamstroy to oversee the work, and endorsed the Komsomol's declaration of BAM as an All-Union Shock Construction Project.

Original Source: Центральный комитет КПСС / Совет министров СССР Постановление от 8 июля 1974 года № 561 «О строительстве Байкало-Амурской железнодорожной магистрали»

In order to further develop the productive forces of Eastern Siberia and the Far East and to meet the growing freight transport demands of these regions, the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR decree:

1. The Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Transport Construction shall:

a) construct in 1974–1983 the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline, 3,145 km in length from the city of Ust-Kut (Lena station) to the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur via Nizhneangарsk, Chara, Tynda, and Urgal; in 1974–1982, a second track 680 km in length on the Taishet–Lena railway line; and in 1974–1979, the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line, 397 km in length, as a single-track line;

b) ensure the opening of through train service (temporary operation) on the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline in 1982, and on the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line in 1978;

c) commission the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline for permanent operation in 1983, and the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line in 1979, with individual sections entering service according to the schedule in Appendix No. 1;

d) submit to the Council of Ministers of the USSR technical designs for the construction of sections of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline and the Tynda–Berkаkit railway line according to the schedule in Appendix No. 2.

Technical designs for the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline shall be developed on the basis of first-category railway design standards, ensuring that upon commissioning of the mainline for permanent operation (as a single-track line with a partially-bundled train schedule) freight transport capacity in the eastward direction shall be 35 million tons per year, including 25 million tons of crude oil;

e) provide in the technical designs for sections of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline for their equipping with advanced operational systems, including centralized dispatching and communications equipment, as well as the construction of buildings and structures meeting modern technical, structural, and architectural requirements, and the creation of well-appointed residential settlements;

f) in the design and construction of the Ust-Kut–Nizhneangарsk and Nizhneangарsk–Tynda sections of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline, provide for the construction of earthworks and bridge supports for two tracks; on the remaining length of the mainline, provide for the construction of major bridge supports for two tracks.

In developing technical designs for the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline, provide a technical-economic justification for the advisability of electrifying the section from Ust-Kut to Muyаkan, as well as for the construction of the Baikal, Severo-Muysky, and Kadarsky tunnels in double-track or separate single-track configuration, and determine the construction timelines for these facilities;

g) ensure the construction of production base facilities for the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline and the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line in accordance with Appendix No. 3.

2. Establish for 1975–1980 a capital investment volume for the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline of 3,570 million rubles (including 2,920 million rubles for construction and installation work); for the construction of the second track of the Taishet–Lena railway line, 270 million rubles (including 230 million rubles for construction and installation work); and for the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line, 450 million rubles (including 395 million rubles for construction and installation work), in accordance with Appendix No. 4.

Establish that:

the capital investment volume for the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline (including construction of the second track of the Taishet–Lena railway line) and the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line shall be included as a separate line item in national economic plans beginning in 1975;

planning of capital investments for the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline and the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line shall be carried out comprehensively (covering both productive and non-productive construction and construction of the construction industry base).

3. The Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Transport Construction shall, in order to meet growing freight and passenger transport demands, carry out work to increase the capacity of the Trans-Siberian Railway Mainline and the railway approaches to the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline in accordance with Appendix No. 5.

4. Establish that financing of construction work on the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline, the facilities specified in Appendix No. 5 to this Decree, the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line, and the second track of the Taishet–Lena railway line shall be carried out in the manner established by paragraph 19 of the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of 30 November 1966, No. 1000.

5. Authorize the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Transport Construction to include in cost estimates for the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline and the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line:

costs not covered by established norms, relating to the payment of one-time allowances to workers sent to work on the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline and the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line, and to the cost of their relocation to their place of work, without including these costs in the volume of completed construction and installation work;

costs for the construction of production base facilities for the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline and the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line as provided in Appendix No. 3 to this Decree;

funds for research work related to the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline and the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line, in an amount up to 0.2 percent of the total cost of said construction;

costs for the construction of a network of helicopter landing pads to ensure cargo delivery and the performance of other tasks connected with the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline.

The Ministry of Transport Construction shall carry out the construction of helicopter landing pads in accordance with the plans and technical documentation of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

6. Establish, as an exception, for the construction of the entire complex of facilities of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline and the Tynda–Berkаkit railway line, a contingency reserve for unforeseen work and costs of 10 percent, and for the construction of temporary structures, 15 percent.

7. Approve the measures to support the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline, the second track of the Taishet–Lena railway line, and the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line in accordance with Appendix No. 6.

8. The Ministry of the Petroleum Industry, the Ministry of the Merchant Marine, and the Ministry of Railways, jointly with the Ministry of Transport Construction, the Ministry of Construction of Petroleum and Gas Industry Enterprises, the Ministry of the Petroleum Refining and Petrochemical Industry of the USSR, and other concerned ministries and agencies, shall examine questions relating to the construction of oil pipelines (together with loading and unloading facilities) from the Urgal region to points of oil consumption and transshipment, as well as an oil-tanker seaport, with a view to commissioning said facilities within timeframes ensuring the transportation of oil for domestic consumption and export in the required volumes, and shall submit proposals to Gosplan USSR within three months.

Gosplan USSR shall submit corresponding proposals to the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

9. The Ministry of the Petroleum Industry and the Ministry of Construction of Petroleum and Gas Industry Enterprises shall carry out the construction and commissioning of oil loading facilities, and the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Transport Construction shall ensure the necessary development of railway stations at these facilities in accordance with Appendix No. 7.

10. The State Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on Vocational and Technical Education and the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR shall provide for the training and assignment in 1975–1978 to the Ministry of Transport Construction of 13,000 skilled workers for the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline, including 2,000 persons in 1975, 3,000 persons in 1976, 4,000 persons in 1977, and 4,000 persons in 1978.

The training of said workers shall be conducted in vocational-technical schools based at the production facilities of other ministries and agencies, in specializations agreed upon with the Ministry of Transport Construction.

11. The Ministry of Heavy, Power, and Transport Engineering shall:

supply to the Ministry of Transport Construction in 1976–1978 50 thermomechanical borehole drilling rigs (TBS) based on LET-250M tractors;

manufacture and supply to the Ministry of Railways in 1976–1980 (against the overall tank car delivery quota) no fewer than 25,000 eight-axle tank cars for the transport of oil and petroleum products;

in cooperation with the Ministry of Railways, develop the design for and, by 1980, organize the production of eight-axle tank cars of the "T" gauge, with delivery of 10,000 such cars in 1981–1985.

The Ministry of Heavy, Power, and Transport Engineering, in cooperation with the Ministry of Railways, shall develop in 1974 measures to ensure the production and supply to railway transport of eight-axle tank cars in the quantities provided for in this Decree, and shall submit these measures to Gosplan USSR.

Gosplan USSR shall review said measures and submit proposals to the Council of Ministers of the USSR on matters requiring a decision of the USSR Government.

12. The Ministry of Energy and Electrification of the USSR shall:

develop in 1974–1975, at the direction of the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Transport Construction, external power supply schemes for the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline and the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line along their full length, and technical working designs for the construction of power transmission lines (by phases of construction), taking into account the priority power supply requirements of the construction of the Baikal and Severo-Muysky tunnels;

construct a 110 kV (in 220 kV dimensions) power transmission line from Ust-Kut to Nizhneangарsk, with the Ust-Kut–Baikal Tunnel section commissioned in 1976;

ensure, under contract with the Ministry of Transport Construction, temporary power supply from mobile power stations to the construction sites of the Baikal and Severo-Muysky tunnels;

construct a double-circuit 220 kV power transmission line from the Ust-Ilim Hydroelectric Power Station to Korshunikh–Ust-Kut, with commissioning in 1976;

develop in 1975, at the direction of the Ministry of Railways, an external power supply scheme for the Trans-Siberian Railway Mainline and submit to the Council of Ministers of the USSR proposals on the timeline for providing electric power to the Karymskaya–Skovorodino railway section for conversion to electric traction.

Gosplan USSR shall, in draft annual plans beginning in 1975, provide for the allocation to the Ministry of Energy and Electrification of the USSR of the capital investments necessary for the design and construction of power transmission lines to supply electricity to the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline and the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line.

13. The Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education of the USSR and the Ministry of Railways shall ensure the training and assignment in 1975–1980 to the Ministry of Transport Construction for the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline of young specialists with higher education in accordance with Appendix No. 8.

14. Authorize the Ministry of Transport Construction to recruit in 1975–1980 drivers and machine operators from among servicemen subject to discharge into the reserve, for work on the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline and the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line, in a number of up to 10,000 persons annually, on the terms provided for in the Decree of the CC CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR of 17 May 1956, No. 648.

15. Oblige the heads of ministries, agencies, construction and installation organizations, and enterprises to release, by way of transfer, workers who have expressed a wish to transfer permanently to organizations and enterprises carrying out the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline.

16. Establish for workers, engineering and technical personnel, and employees of the Ministry of Transport Construction, the Ministry of Railways, and other ministries and agencies engaged in survey and design work, construction, industrial and auxiliary production, transport, and in enterprises and organizations servicing the construction and builders of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline, the second track of the Taishet–Lena railway line, and the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line, the conditions of remuneration and benefits set out in Appendix No. 9.

17. For the purpose of directing the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline and ensuring its material and technical supply, the Ministry of Transport Construction shall organize in 1974 the Main Directorate for the Construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline — Glavbamstroy (on a cost-accounting basis); and the Ministry of Railways shall organize the Directorate for Equipment Supply for the Construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline — Transkomplekt (on a cost-accounting basis), a corresponding directorate within the Ministry's Main Directorate of Capital Construction, and a directorate for the construction of said mainline, establishing salary scales for employees of this directorate at the level of the corresponding employees of a first-grade railway administration.

In connection with the establishment of said subdivisions, increase the staff of the central apparatus of the Ministry of Transport Construction by 170 positions and of the Ministry of Railways by 120 positions.

18. Stroybank USSR, in order to ensure uninterrupted financing of the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline, shall establish a Stroybank USSR branch office in the construction zone and Stroybank USSR branch offices at the locations of construction organizations, for which purpose the staff of Stroybank USSR shall be increased by 80 positions, including the staff of the central apparatus of Stroybank USSR by 8 positions.

19. Gosplan USSR, Gosnab USSR, the ministries and agencies of the USSR shall provide for the allocation to the Ministry of Transport Construction for the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline (including the requirements of subcontracting organizations of other ministries and agencies for general construction machinery and equipment for said construction) in 1975–1977 of equipment, machinery, and mechanisms in accordance with Appendix No. 10, and in 1975 of materials and cable products in accordance with Appendix No. 11.

Gosnab USSR shall additionally allocate in 1974 to the Ministry of Transport Construction for the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline vehicles, equipment, machinery, mechanisms, and cable products in accordance with Appendix No. 12, and to the Ministry of Energy and Electrification of the USSR for the construction of the Ust-Kut–Nizhneangарsk power transmission line, vehicles and machinery in accordance with Appendix No. 13.

20. Establish that the allocation to the Ministry of Transport Construction and the Ministry of Railways of materials, equipment, cable products, machinery, mechanisms, vehicles, and other material resources for the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline, the second track of the Taishet–Lena railway line, and the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line shall be made in annual plans as a separate line item based on physical work volumes.

21. Gosplan USSR, jointly with Gosnab USSR, shall, on the basis of calculations submitted by the Ministry of Transport Construction, establish for organizations carrying out the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline norms for carry-over stocks of materials, taking into account their seasonal delivery.

22. Increase for 1974 the Ministry of Transport Construction's capital investment volume by 30 million rubles for the purchase of prefabricated buildings, equipment, and inventory, as well as for expenses connected with the establishment of Glavbamstroy and line subdivisions for the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline and the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line.

Finance said capital investments from the reserve fund of the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

23. Endorse the initiative of the CC of the Komsomol in declaring the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline an All-Union Shock Komsomol Construction Project, and in dispatching to this project under Komsomol assignment skilled workers from industrial enterprises and construction sites throughout the country, so that beginning in 1975 no fewer than 20,000 young people work annually on the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline.

The CC's of the Communist Parties of the union republics, the territory and regional committees of the CPSU shall render assistance to Komsomol organizations in their work of directing young people to the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline.

24–36. Secret.

Taking into account the great national economic significance of the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline, the second track of the Taishet–Lena railway line, and the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line, the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR oblige the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR, the Council of Ministers of the Buryat ASSR and the Buryat Oblast Committee of the CPSU, the Council of Ministers of the Yakut ASSR and the Yakut Oblast Committee of the CPSU, the Khabarovsk Territory Committee of the CPSU and the Khabarovsk Territory Executive Committee, the Chita, Irkutsk, and Amur Oblast Committees of the CPSU and the Chita, Irkutsk, and Amur Oblast Executive Committees, and all party, soviet, and economic organs to render every possible assistance to the organizations of the Ministry of Transport Construction and the Ministry of Railways in the fulfillment of the tasks assigned to them for the construction of the Baikal-Amur Railway Mainline, the BAM–Tynda–Berkаkit railway line, the second track of the Taishet–Lena railway line, and the facilities associated with increasing the capacity of the railways of Eastern Siberia and the Far East.

Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU L. BREZHNEV

Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR A. KOSYGIN