The construction of the Northern Latitudinal Railway to be delayed

The construction of the Northern Latitudinal Railway project could be postponed till 2027 or 2031, Russian newspaper Kommersant reports citing documents the Ministry of Transport recently sent to the Russian president’s administration. 

The Railway, which was once seen as a crucial part of the economic and industrial development of Yamal and the whole Russian Arctic zone, is stumbling. And one of the major reasons seems to be that is not a priority anymore since the war in Ukraine is demanding immense resources. The Railway project is supposed to be financed by the Russian government, as well as by “Gazprom”, “Russian Railways” and “The Corporation of Development”.

The Northern Latitudinal Railway project includes the construction of 707 kilometres of railway tracks across the wetlands and tundra of the far northern region of Russia. Its planned routes includes the cities of Salekhard, Nadym, Novy Urengoy through to the Sverdlovsk region. This would significantly reduce the timing for various types of transportations. 

One of the crucial objectives of the railway is the construction of a bridge over the river Ob. Kommersant cites its sources familiar with the project, who say “there are no decisions on the financing of the bridge over the Ob river”, though the delay of the construction hasn’t been made official yet. Another source Kommersant cites says the Russian Ministry of Transport “had to agree to postpone the project as there is no understanding where the money should come from”. 

The bravado of Arctic development for now seems just mostly words. The construction is being delayed despite the fact that President Putin has mentioned the project in his speeches. For example, at the Legislative Assembly in 2021 the president said: “This project has been under elaboration for a long time. Now is the time for its launch,” Putin said. 

Yet, the longer the project is delayed, the higher costs will rise. Kommersant estimates in 2027-2031 the whole budget would rise from 650 billion rubles to 730 billion rubles. 

But priorities change. According to Forbes, by February 2023 Russia had spent $114.4 billion over the course of one year on the war (about $10 billion a month). This is the equivalent of a third of all Russian budget revenues during 2021. 

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