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Eastern Range development to promote growth of Asian segment of global economy — Putin

The new tunnel crosses the Baikal ridge and connects two Russian regions: the western portal is situated in the Irkutsk Region and the eastern one — in the Republic of Buryatia

MOSCOW, July 28. /TASS/. Development of the Eastern Range of Russian Railways is strategic in the context of development for the Asian segment of the global economy, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday via a video link at the inauguration ceremony for the start of railway traffic through the second Baikal tunnel.

"We must think of both operational and strategic matters. Almost everything related to the development of the Eastern Range [the Russian infrastructural project aimed at increasing the throughput capacity of Baikal-Amur and Trans-Siberian railways — TASS] is strategic by nature. I mean the dynamics of the global economy, and the development of its Asian segment," the Russian leader said.

The new tunnel crosses the Baikal ridge and connects two Russian regions: the western portal is situated in the Irkutsk Region and the eastern one — in the Republic of Buryatia.

The old single-track Baikal tunnel, built in 1985, was one of the bottlenecks on the Baikal-Amur Mainline. The new tunnel is situated 35 away from the old one and, now that it is open, the traffic will now be on both tracks. The throughput capacity of the segment will surge 2.5-fold from 13.2 to 32.4 mln tonnes of cargo annually after the opening of the second tunnel.

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