A second Mansky tunnel has been officially opened by Russian Railways (RZD) president Vladimir Yakunin, relieving a critical bottleneck on the Mezhdurechensk – Tayshet branch of the Trans-Siberian Express.
The new tunnel, which cuts beneath the Argazinskoe pass in the Sayan Mountains parallel to the existing 1960s-built tunnel between Abakan and Tayshet section, will free up capacity for additional freight services to serve the burgeoning mining industry in the Kuzbass region of Khakassia.
At 2,465 metres, the tunnel is the largest such structure in the Krasnoyarsk region and only the third tunnel in Russia to be constructed using tunnel boring machines, according to contractor SK MOST.
At the opening, Vladimir Yakunin said: “The opening of the Mansky Tunnel in the Krasnoyarsk Region is an event of a huge importance.
“We are looking forward to an increase in freight traffic, which is why we have to develop the infrastructure of the country railways in the east. In this perspective, the Mansky Tunnel is one of the most important projects, part of the upgrading of the routes in the region.”
