Rail tracks restored in record period - Alexey Melnikov

ArmInfo.During a briefing, General Director of South Caucasus Railways CJSC Alexey Melnikov spoke about  the work to restore the railway track after the severe flood in May 2024. "Almost 2 km of the track in various sections were washed away and destroyed. 

This work was new for us, because during the entire period of  operation of railways in Armenia, since 1896, such cases had not  occurred. There was a need to clearly and competently plan both the  timing and technology of emergency recovery work. Of course, we  received the appropriate assistance from our colleagues. General  Director of Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov personally headed the  operational headquarters for emergency recovery of our sections.  Specialists from the Russian Federation arrived, and specialists of  all levels, starting from high-level managers who had all the  necessary knowledge and competencies, ending with those people who  directly organized the work, being bulldozer operators, foremen,  masters," Melnikov said.

In this regard, he emphasized that thanks to the coordinated work and  professionalism of all participants, the restoration work was  completed in the shortest possible time. <We literally decided on the  required volume of work and the technological aspects associated with  each section separately within 24 hours.  Initially, we planned that  the work should be completed by June 20, but thanks to the  coordinated work and the fact that the work was carried out 24 hours  a day, on June 14 at 13:00 we sent the first train along this  section. The restored sections returned to the state prior to the  emergency, and some places were even improved>, Melnikov said. The  General Director of SCR also explained that the work was carried out  with a large margin of safety. <According to the statistical bureau  in Armenia, such cataclysms occur once every 300 years. The work was  carried out with a very large margin of safety. In the places where  we carried out work, we cleared the riverbed and also widened it in  order to ensure the unimpeded passage of water masses," Melnikov  noted.

Speaking about the importance of restoring the railway track, Alexey  Melnikov emphasized that it was necessary to ensure the transit of  oil products, food and other important cargo. He reported that the  railway began operating in full on June 15. "We managed to ensure  uninterrupted unloading of oil products at the Ayrum station, which  allowed us to avoid supply problems, meeting all the needs of the  Republic of Armenia in terms of railway communications. This also  allowed us to avoid a collapse and price increases, preventing an  energy crisis. In addition, we opened passenger transportation, which  is also very important for us. Since the restoration of traffic, we  have transported more than 25,000 passengers along this section," the  head of the South Caucasus Railway concluded.