AUGUST 1 is due to see the commissioning of a further 900 route-km of optic fibre communications links on Russia’s Volga Railway. The regional Chief Engineer A Khrapaty confirmed at the end of June that work was well under way to complete the installation of 4000 route-km by 2005.
Another optic fibre link is due to be laid on RZD’s Far Eastern Railway by the end of this year, completing a trans-Siberian communications landbridge from Moscow to Vladivostok. FER Deputy Chief Engineer Andrej Bibichenko says a six-storey computer centre is under construction at FER headquarters to manage the railway’s voice and data links and commercial traffic using the Eurasian connection.
A link from the trans-Siberian corridor into Mongolia is to be developed by the Mongolian Railway joint stock company, which is partially Russian-owned. A contract has been signed with Japanese companies for the installation of an optic fibre communications link on the 402 km from Ulan Bator to the Russian border at Naushki, with Japanese funding. MR Vice President I Tsverko says the deal will form the basis for developing a computer-supported railway management system.
- The optic fibre project could be a pilot for the use of Japanese funding on other railway investment in Mongolia, including modernisation of the 1800 route-km network and badly-needed repairs to the rolling stock fleet. Mongolia’s Minister for Infrastructure Development Mr Bakhuu said during a recent visit to Moscow that about 100 Russian-built diesel locomotives and 3000 wagons are in need of attention.
