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Meet The Yamal Railway, the northernmost railway in the world

In the Nenets language (Samoyedic language spoken in northern Russia), “yamal” means “The End of the Land”. It is also the name of a peninsula in Northwest Siberia, about 2000 km from Moscow. This far away and long forgotten place is the home of Russia’s largest natural gas reserve (55 trillion cubic meters of gas), as well as the home to the world’s northernmost railway, the Yamal Railway.

The gas reserve, called the Bovanenko gas field, was discovered in 1972, but developments of the Yamal area didn´t begin until the early 90s. As of today, the area is of great strategic interest for both the Russian government and Russian energy giant Gazprom.

Industrial development of the area has had a major significance in securing Russian gas production build-up beyond 2010. Construction of the Yamal railway is a vital part of Gazprom´s plans with respects to the Bovanenko gas fields. Previously, delivery of bulk material was only possible by sea through the Kharasavey port during the summer navigation season, which naturally limited the production.

(Map courtesy of Gazprom)

The Yamal railway is 572 kilometers (355 miles) long and runs north to the town of Karskaya. The railway contains a 3.9 kilometer long (2.4 miles) bridge, called the Yuribey Bridge. The construction needed special equipment and techniques as the majority of Yamal peninsula’s territory located in permafrost and highly-swamped areas. The lowest temperatures in the area could easily reach -50 Celsius (-58 Fahrenheit) during the winter time. Some of the 7,000 construction workers had to be carried out when temperatures fell below zero.

During the construction of the tracks, Gazprom also had to consider environmental concerns as the Yamal peninsula is home to approximately 15,000 people and about half of a million reindeers. The railway should have as little interference with the environment and its natural inhabitants.

The railway line was opened for traffic in 2010, while the first gas deliveries from the Bovanenkovo field were scheduled to depart in 2012. The yearly cargo volume is about 3 million tons, which includes construction materials, machinery, fuel, pipes and cables. In the future, it will also deliver gas condensate. There are passenger trains for the transporting of Gazprom employees that travel in and out regularly.

There are plans to sell the railway line to the state operator, RZD, but the 130 billion roubles price (~2 billion EUR), was unrealistic according to the chairman of Russian railways. The long term goal for Gazprom is to focus on core activities other than operating, such as the unique railway line at the End of the Land.

Submitted by: Balazs Kiss

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