The BAM is on the road
The history of the Baikal–Amur Mainline (BAM)* is very complex and unique in its own way. Its construction was repeatedly paused and delayed for many years. The active phase of construction began at last in 1974, and it took tens of years’ work, 4300 kilometers of tracks and more than 2 million people’s labour. Today the BAM is 40 years old and it is awesome, that the jubilee was marked by the governmental decision to upgrade and widen the track. Good luck, BAM!
*The Baikal–Amur Mainline is a 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in) broad gauge railway line in Russia. Traversing Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East, the 4,324 km (2,687 mi) long BAM runs about 610 to 770 km (380 to 480 miles) north of and parallel to the Trans-Siberian railway. The BAM was built as a strategic alternative route to the Trans-Siberian Railway, especially along the vulnerable sections close to the border with China. The BAM's costs were estimated at $14 billion, and it was built with special, durable tracks since much of it was built over permafrost. Due to the severe terrain, weather, length and cost Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev described BAM as "the construction project of the century." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baikal%E2%80%93Amur_Mainline)
