April 23, 2024 (EIRNS)—Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met yesterday in Moscow with veterans, builders, and employees of the Baikal-Amur Mainline railroad to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its construction launch. The 4,324-km kilometer BAM is a key feature of Eurasia infrastructure.
President Putin pointed out that today the International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC) resembles the BAM in its scale, saying, “It actually links the Northern Sea Route to the Persian Gulf.” He added that the route is being designed, “for purposes of expedited economic and social development of Eurasian and Global South countries.” The INSTC runs for 7,200 km as a roadway/railway and waterway route, from St. Petersburg, Russia via Azerbaijan, Iran to Mumbai, India.
The BAM starts on the Pacific Ocean at Sovetskaya Gavan. It runs north of Russia’s Trans-Siberian Railroad, across the Far East and Siberia, joining the Trans-Siberian Railroad at Tayshet. Its construction involved specially durable tracks, for the parts running over permafrost, for which Russia discovered engineering breakthroughs, and engaging some 2 million railway builders, engineers, and others in building the BAM.
In his address to BAM veteran workers yesterday, along with President Aliyev, President Putin said: “Fifty years ago, the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline began. This railway stands as one of the world’s largest arteries, a true path of the future. For many involved in the inception and implementation of this project, the BAM is a symbol of dreams and romantic aspirations cherished by an entire generation, as they used to say back then and we can confirm now.
“The BAM also epitomizes the immense labor and bravery of two million young people from across the Soviet Union. They embarked on a ground-breaking project, unparalleled in world history.
