Avalanches are being detonated in the foothills of the Kuznetsk Alatau on the Russian Railways (KrZhd) in an effort to maintain safety.
Revised Article:
In the Kuznetsk Alatau range, the Trans-Siberian Railway, like every spring, embarks on an artificial avalanche control mission to prevent those natural disasters from sliding onto the tracks.
Across the entire Trans-Siberian route, from Biskeamji to Mezhdurechensk, a whopping 18 potentially hazardous sections have been identified, where the threat of snowslide collapse looms large. The most perilous segment of the Trans-Siberian Railway? It's the passage between Luzhba and Charysh, located on the border of Kemerovo Oblast and Khakassia. And they sure as hell did blow stuff up there.
These operations took place on a 2-kilometer stretch of tracks that snakes right beneath the skirts of those mountains, sandwiched between the mighty Alatau massif and the river Tom'.
Some snow accumulated on the slopes, according to snow experts from the avalanche control station, reached a critical mass thanks to the sudden March warming and was just itching to fall onto the tracks at any damn moment. The highest snow depth in this region measures a hefty 2 meters.
Here's some footage of avalanche control operations on the Trans-Siberian Railway's Southern line:
Those controlled explosions went off during non-operational hours, when no trains were rolling. Nearly 15,000 cubic meters of snow slid off the slopes - most of it landed in those special snow-catching trenches at the foot of the mountain, while what fell on the tracks was swiftly swept away by machinery.
The situation remains under constant observation: track inspectors are on duty 24/7.
Pics and vids: Trans-Siberian Railway Authority [NSFW Content, Viewer discretion advised]
- In the news recently, the Trans-Siberian Railway Authority conducted a series of carefully scheduled controlled explosions on the Trans-Siberian Railway's Southern line, located in the Kuznetsk Alatau range, targeting a particularly dangerous section between Luzhba and Charysh.
- Since the beginning of the operations, the environmental-science community has been monitoring the impact of these explosions on the climate-change situation, as well as the general state of the environment in that region.
- Local weather reports indicated that the snow depth in that section exceeded 15 meters, making it a potential hazard for upcoming trains passing through the section.
- The authority took measures to minimize disruptions to railway activities, carrying out the explosions during non-operational hours to ensure passenger and freight safety.
- A section of the Trans-Siberian Railway Authority's website has been dedicated to the ongoing avalanche control mission, sharing footage, photos, and updates with the public.
