The Circum-Baikal Railway: timetable, price, photo and reviews

A unique place in Russia is rightly considered the Circum-Baikal Railway (photo will be presented below). Such an unusual name was formed in view of the fact that when you look at the map, the impression is that the road really makes a circle.

A few facts about the CBR

The above-mentioned name was applied to the railway section of the Trans-Baikal road from the Baikal Station to the Mysovaya platform. Its length was 260 kilometers. It should be noted that at present this site is an integral part of the East Siberian Railway. In addition, at the moment such a term (CBR) is used only in relation to the dead-end distances from the Slyudyanka ΙΙ stop to Baikal. Until 1949, the main route of the Trans-Siberian Railway passed through the territory of the Circum-Baikal railway. By the way, the above section (up to the Mysovaya platform) is to this day a component of the Siberian direction. A section of the Olkhinsky plateau (its southern part), passing from the settlement of Slyudyanka to the Baikal station, is recognized as a monument of engineering art. However, after the doubling segment of the railway communication was put into operation, there was no need to use the segment from Irkutsk to Slyudyanka. And in 1956 it was dismantled. And by the end of the 50-ies, when the Irkutsk hydroelectric station was erected, it was completely drowned (as a result of the flooding of the reservoir). That's why the deadlock was formed. To note, officially the CBRD never existed (it was an integral part of the Trans-Baikal site). There was only the management of the construction of the railway. Today this distance is an element of the East Siberian message.

Research work in the territory

The first surveys were carried out from 1836 to 1840. The work was carried out by A.I. Stuckenberg. However, the final actions to identify the plan, according to which the Circum-Baikal railway was to be built, were completed in 1894. The first route passed from Irkutsk to the deepest lake on the planet. At first, it was decided to conduct a railway communication on the right bank of the Angara. To this end, it was planned to build a pontoon bridge. But later this idea was rejected, as the water level in the river was subject to frequent fluctuations. And during the period of ice drift, the use of this section was not possible at all. Therefore, it was decided that the Kurgobaykalskaya railway would go along the left bank, although it was considered too difficult to develop. Simultaneously with these investigations , research was carried out to study the feasibility of laying a railway communication for connecting the "rupture" on the Siberian Railway. And the eastern part of the problem was not. Here a segment of the road passed along the flat terrain and the southern shore of Lake Baikal, which is marked by a slope. But the gap for connecting Irkutsk and Kultuk caused considerable difficulties.

Creating a railroad track

As a result of the work carried out (which was conducted by Professor IV Mushketov), four possible options were developed for pulling this railroad line. Namely:

1. 1. From Irkutsk to the settlement of Kultuk through the left bank of the river through Zirkuzunsky ridge.
2. On the valleys of the rivers Krutaya Guba and Bolshaya Olha with further paving the road along the shore of Lake Baikal.
3. From the village of Belektui to Kultuk through Tunkinsky ridge.
4. From the Baikal platform to the final point along the lake shore.

Accepting the final version

As a result of the performed studies (which were carried out by mining engineering parties), only two were selected from the proposed versions. And in 1899 the committee for the construction of the Siberian railway communication approved the first and the third variant of connecting the "rupture" of the highway. Throughout the year under the supervision of B.U. Samrimovich on the chosen routes were the final detailed research. This made it possible irrevocably to give preference to communication along the shore of Lake Baikal. Doubts about the advisability of using this option were due to the fact that the coast was a rocky area with steep slopes. However, according to calculations, it was found that this plan has economic efficiency. The final approval of the chosen route was made in 1901. Managing the construction work instructed B.U. Savrimovich, who at that time was the engineer of communications. For information, the estimate of this railway construction amounted to more than 52 million rubles.

The Circum-Baikal Railway. History

When designing the Siberian section (which as a result became known as the Trans-Siberian Railway) consisted of 7 segments. Among them was the Korugobaykalskaya railway, the construction of which was conducted along the eastern shore of the lake from Irkutsk to the city of Babushkino (formerly the pier of Mysovaya). In the period from 1896 to 1900, the construction of a railroad track from the starting point of departure to Cape Ustyansky (which had the original name Little Baranchik) was conducted. In addition, by 1900, construction work was completed on the Circum-Baikal railway on the east coast, and initially all the forces were directed to the construction of the distance between the station Mysovaya and Tanhoya. In subsequent works (up to the Slyudyanka platform), the work of convicts and prisoners was mainly used.

Final work

Laying the most difficult segment (before the Baikal stop) began only in the spring of 1902. And it should be noted that the deadline was set for the end of the summer of 1905. The shore of the lake at that time was a stony precipice with an elevation of up to 400 m. Initially, it was assumed that this site would include 33 tunnels. In addition, due to the negative impact of Baikal's water, the height of the railroad base should have been at least 533 cm. Also, during the construction of crossings, the moment of throughput was taken into account. He was at least 14 pairs of trains during the day.

The Circum-Baikal Railway. Schedule and price

In the 80s, they began to work through the tourist industry. It should be noted that from the time of commissioning the Circum-Baikal road has already been used as a recreation area, albeit in a very limited range. What is the Circum-Baikal Railway today? 2014 is rich in various excursions. The trips are carried out weekly. In June - on Saturday and Sunday, in July - from Wednesday to Sunday. Throughout the site, the "Circum-Baikal Express" was launched. Departure of the train is carried out in the mornings. The cost of excursions is just over 2000 rubles. Duration of the tour is one day.

sights

To date, there are several recreation centers, and an unusual type of tourism is in demand - "wild". The company "RZD" is currently intensively engaged in the development of tourism opportunities that the Circum-Baikal Railway has. Reviews of tourists who have already visited these places are very positive. First of all, many people go there to look at the "engineering" sights. In addition to them, along the route of the Baikal-Amur Railway there are many natural monuments that are of no less interest. These are rock outcrops, a number of wooden structures made in the Art Nouveau style (built in the early 20th century), stone remains and so on.