in working order

Yesterday, the new head of the East Siberian Railway (ESJD), Alexander Tishanin, announced that the road management plans to redirect export cargo flows coming from the Irkutsk region to Asian countries from the Zabaikalsky border crossing (Zabaikalskaya Railway) to the crossing in Naushki, which is under the authority of VSJD. Mr. Tishanin also promised to improve the quality and increase the profitability of passenger transportation, and eliminate the shortage of freight cars, although he did not share specific recipes. Together with the Irkutsk journalists, Kommersant correspondent YURY DOROKHOV was waiting for them and did not wait.
Mr. Tishanin was introduced to the people of Irkutsk as the head of VSZD on April 9 after the dismissal of Alesandr Kasyanov from this post, the reason for whose resignation was “safety problems” (in eight months there were four major accidents, one of which involved a passenger train and three deaths). Yesterday the new boss met with reporters for the first time. At the very beginning of the meeting, he said that he was ready to answer all the journalists’ questions and, indeed, to one degree or another, answered everyone. So, when journalists inquired about VSZhD’s plans for the construction of the Korshunovsky tunnel in the area of the city of Zheleznogorsk-Ilimsky (Russian Railways President Gennady Fadeev said last fall that a 1 km long tunnel would “noticeably” increase the capacity of BAM - Kommersant), Mr. Tishanin replied that a “separate decision” will be made on the Korshunovsky tunnel, without saying anything specific. After this, the head of the Eastern Railway promised to improve the situation with passenger transportation, but “for now he did not lift the curtain” on what the railway workers were going to do.
But Mr. Tishanin voiced VSJD’s plans to reorient timber exporters to the border crossing in Naushki, which is “currently underloaded.” While it is possible to send about ten trains a day through this crossing every day, currently there are a maximum of seven. The bulk of cargo (60-65%) travels through the Trans-Baikal Railway. Convincing shippers of the advisability of changing transport flows will not be easy - well-established transport schemes have developed - but Mr. Tishanin expressed his intention to try to do this.
Regarding plans for cooperation with the YUKOS company, Mr. Tishanin expressed confidence that VSJD will be able to fulfill its obligations to transport the company’s oil to China. Moreover, so far the railway workers are coping with the tasks assigned to them - in the first months, the plan for transporting Yukos oil was fulfilled by 115%. The head of the Eastern Railway did not miss the opportunity to express his opinion regarding the plans to build an oil pipeline to the Far East: “There is no point in using a pipeline for oil supplies - we can do it ourselves.”
In addition to the positive aspects, the new head of the railway also focused on the negative phenomena. Alexander Tishanin called a number of topics “exciting,” especially traffic safety. Let us recall that his predecessor as head of VSZD, Alexander Kasyanov, was subjected to scathing criticism from the president of Russian Railways, Gennady Fadeev, for the high level of accidents. “The number of collisions this year has increased by 10%,” Mr. Tishanin admitted sadly and said: “We have many dangerous places, for example, Glubokaya station.” Next year, construction of an overpass will begin above this crossing.
Mr. Tishanin intends to deal with local shortcomings during an inspection trip, which is traditionally organized twice a year, in spring and autumn. “All the negative aspects associated with the movement of trains will be revealed,” the railway chief promised.
Despite the existing problems, according to Mr. Tishanin, “the road is in working condition.” The railway load level increased by almost 30% compared to the first four months of last year. In general, the cargo transportation plan was fulfilled by 102.4%. The main merit here belongs to foresters and oil workers. Loading of oil cargo increased by 18%, and iron ore cargo by 17%. 1.5 thousand tons more timber cargo was transported than planned. Mr. Tishanin received special gratitude from the shippers who agreed to work during the May holidays.
At the end of the press conference, Mr. Tishanin still gave one comprehensive answer to the journalists’ question. “Will such meetings be regular?” — asked the pen workers. “Definitely,” the head of the Eastern Railway responded optimistically.

Kommersant (Irkutsk) No. 81 from 05/07/2004

The head of the Eastern Railway found the way