Dates of operation 1922–present Headquarters Rostov-on-Don Locale Russia | Length 6,315.9 km (3,920 mi) Website Press here | |
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Predecessor North Caucasus Railway (USSR, Russian Empire) Track gauge 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 ⁄32 in) | ||
North Caucasus Railway (Russian: Северо-Кавказская железная дорога) is a 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in) broad gauge Russian railway network that links the Sea of Azov (in the west) and Caspian Sea (in the east). It runs through ten federal subjects: Rostov Oblast, Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, Republic of Adygeya, Karachay–Cherkessia, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechnya, Dagestan, and Kalmykia. The headquarters are in Rostov-on-Don.
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The network comprises Grozny, Krasnodar, Makhachkala, Mineralnye Vody, and Rostov passenger and freight railways, as well as two children's railways (in Vladikavkaz and Rostov). As of 2005, there were 6315.9 km of railtrack and 403 railway stations. The railway is operated by the Russian Railways and employs 80,757 people.
The Black Sea resorts of Sochi, Gelendzhik and Anapa are the principal passenger destinations on the railway. The Sochi line, running for many miles along the coast of the Black Sea, is especially busy in summer with regular extra direct express trains for holiday makers. The oil ports at Novorossiysk and Tuapse are significant destinations for rail freight traffic.
Construction timeline
In 1937 the North Caucasus Railway was renamed after the Soviet party leader Sergo Ordzhonikidze but soon reverted to its traditional name. It was in the late 1950s that most of the railway network was electrified.