Will the bridge to Sakhalin reach Japan? Russia proposed that Japan work together to build a bridge from Hokkaido to Sakhalin Sakhalin Japan distance map.

The Japanese call it Soya. Strong tidal currents dominate here. In winter, the strait is covered with ice.
The large Aniva Bay juts into the northern shore of the La Perouse Strait, and Soya Bay into the southern shore. The banks of the strait are mountainous, overgrown with dense forest. Only some sections of the coast at the tops of Aniva Bay and Soya Bay are low-lying.
Settlements on the banks of the strait are common, but they are small and are located mostly at the mouths of rivers and streams.
Japanese territorial waters extend three nautical miles (5,556 m) from the coast into the gulf, as opposed to the internationally accepted twelve nautical miles. It is believed that in this way Japan provides the opportunity for US ships and submarines with nuclear weapons on board to pass through the strait without violating the official Japanese ban on the deployment of nuclear weapons on the country's territory.

History of discovery

The first European navigator to pass through the strait was Jean-François La Perouse, an officer of the French navy and a great navigator.
In 1785, an expedition under the command of La Perouse left the French city of Brest on the frigates Boussol and Astrolabe, with the goal of exploring the possibility of colonizing lands in the Far East and Australia in favor of France. In 1787, the ships approached Sakhalin, where La Perouse discovered the strait between Sakhalin and the island of Hokkaido, which now bears his name.
In 1788, La Perouse's ships headed for the shores of New Caledonia and the southern coast of Australia, where they disappeared. Only in 2005 was reliable confirmation received that the expedition died during a shipwreck off the coast of Vanikoro Island in the western Pacific Ocean.
The boundaries of the strait are: in the west - a conventional line connecting Cape Kuznetsov with Cape Nosyappu, in the east - a line connecting Cape Aniva with Cape Kamui. Important routes of communication pass through the La Perouse Strait, connecting the ports of the Sea of ​​Japan with the ports of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean. Navigation along the La Perouse Strait is difficult due to snowfall, fog or rain, limiting visibility to almost zero.
This place is located between Cape Krillon (Sakhalin Island) and Cape Soya (Hokkaido Island). Cape Krillon is the southernmost point of the Krillon Peninsula and the entire Sakhalin Island. It received its name from the French commander Louis de Balbes de Crillon (1543-1615), and it was named after La Perouse, who discovered the cape when his expedition was already leaving the waters of Sakhalin.
Not far from the cape is the Rock of Danger - completely devoid of vegetation, rising 5.2 m above the water. This is a favorite rookery for seals and sea lions, whose roar can be heard at a great distance. This place has an extremely bad reputation: many shipwrecks have occurred here.
Cape Soya is the northernmost point of Hokkaido and, as is believed, of all of Japan. Here is one of the major port cities in the strait area - Wakkanai. A ferry crossing across the strait connects it with the Russian port city of Korsakov on Sakhalin, in Salmon Bay (this is one of the largest ports on the island). But in the winter months it has practically no effect: the water area is densely filled with massive drifting ice. The route of coastal ships from Vladivostok to the ports of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Magadan, Anadyr, Korsakov and the ports of the Chukotka Peninsula passes through the La Perouse Strait.
Navigation on the La Perouse Strait is fraught with great difficulties and requires great experience from captains and navigators. Between December and April, the strait becomes clogged with ice drifting from the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Tatar Strait. The strength of the currents here is such that if there is wind, they can blow the ship off course in any direction for a considerable distance. The climate in the La Perouse Strait area cannot be called comfortable either. During the year, about a hundred cyclones pass over it, accompanied by fogs and a sharp increase in wind. And at the end of summer - at the beginning of autumn, typhoons are also common, when the wind becomes stormy (more than 40 m/s) and heavy rains fall continuously.

general information

Maritime border between the Russian Federation and Japan.

Origin: tectonic.

Islands: Danger Stone (Russia), Bentenjima (Japan).
Largest port cities: Korsakov (Sakhalin Island) - 33,526 people. (2010), Wakkanai (Hokkaido island) - 38,944 people. (2010).

Languages: Russian, Japanese.

Currency: Russian ruble, Japanese yen.

Numbers

Width (smallest): 43 km.
Maximum depth: 118 m.
Minimum fairway depth: 27 m.

Climate and weather

Average air temperature in January: -5.5°C.

Average air temperature in July: +16.8°C.

Average annual precipitation: 1124 mm.

Economy

Ferry crossings.

Fishing.

Attractions

Curious facts

■ In fact, the northernmost point of Japan is on the tiny uninhabited island of Bentenjima, located a kilometer northwest of Cape Soya.
■ In clear weather, Cape Krillon on Sakhalin is visible from Hokkaido.

■ La Perouse failed to make another discovery in the Sakhalin region. Having risen above 51° N, he - through measurements with a hand lot - noted a constant decrease in depths. Therefore, I concluded that Sakhalin is a peninsula connected to the mainland by a sandy isthmus. between Sakhalin and the mainland was discovered by the Russian admiral G.I. Nevelskoy (1813-1876) in 1849
■ Proof that La Perouse's ships crashed off the coast of the island of Vanikoro was the study by modern means of a sextant found among the wreckage preserved near the coast of Vanikoro. I was able to read the engraving on it: Merrier. And in accordance with the surviving inventory of the property of the frigate “Boussol”, there was a sextant on board, made by a certain “Mr. Mercier”.
■ The Russian port city of Korsakov on Sakhalin and the Japanese port city of Wakkanai on Hokkaido are twin cities.
■ The northern breakwater of the Wakkanai Port House has a unique design that has no analogues in the world. The breakwater rises like a semi-arch at a height of 14 m above sea level. The structure consists of 72 columns, its length is 427 m. The main purpose of the breakwater is to protect the city from strong northwest winds in the winter.
■ Near the port of Korsakov there is a natural gas liquefaction plant with a berthing complex (the only one in Russia; commissioned in 2009 as part of the Sakhalin-2 energy project).

Island Japan, with the help of Russia, is capable of becoming a continental power. At least, this is exactly the phrase Deputy Prime Minister Shuvalov used when speaking about the possibility of building a bridge between Sakhalin and Hokkaido. But if the meaning of this gigantic project for Moscow is to some extent visible, then for Tokyo its effect is far from so obvious.

Russia and Japan are discussing the construction of a bridge between Hokkaido and Sakhalin, said First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov.

“We seriously suggest that our Japanese partners consider the construction of a mixed road-rail crossing from Hokkaido to the southern part of Sakhalin. At the same time, we are close to starting our part of the work - bringing the railway to the Pacific coast and building the same complex transition from the mainland to Sakhalin. In this case, this will provide additional opportunities to use our railway infrastructure, and Japan will become a continental power,” said the First Deputy Prime Minister, speaking at the economic forum in Vladivostok, Interfax reports.

“Is it possible to do this? Perhaps, with modern technology, it is not even that expensive. And we are seriously discussing this with our Japanese partners,” he added.

Shuvalov is talking about two bridges. One should connect Sakhalin Island with the mainland through the Nevelskoy Strait, the other - Sakhalin Island with the Japanese island of Hokkaido through the La Perouse Strait.

The idea of ​​this project has been discussed for a very long time. They dreamed of connecting Sakhalin with the mainland even under Stalin. At the time, these plans looked fantastic, but modern technology has changed a lot. Russia has built a bridge to Russky Island in Vladivostok and is already very close to the construction of the Kerch Bridge connecting the Crimean Peninsula with mainland Russia. Various options for connecting Sakhalin with the mainland were discussed: from the possibility of building a tunnel or dam with a shipping canal to a bridge crossing in various combinations.

Why was the decision to build the Kerch Bridge so quick, but the Sakhalin-mainland bridge has not yet been built? The problem is the economy. With the Crimean Bridge in this regard, everything is very clear - it will become a real impetus for the economic development of the peninsula, and no one doubts the prospects for traffic growth. And, of course, connecting Crimea with the rest of Russia is extremely important from a political point of view.

The appearance of the mainland-island transition will undoubtedly accelerate the development of the Khabarovsk Territory and the Sakhalin Region, this will mean new jobs, tax revenues, etc. Now all goods and food products are delivered to Sakhalin by sea, so their cost is significantly higher than the Russian average. However, Sakhalin is not Crimea; local cargo turnover is much more modest. The appearance of a bridge or tunnel to the mainland will increase transportation along the Selikhin – Nysh line to 9.2 million tons per year. Considering the cost of the bridge, this is not enough.

If Sakhalin is connected not only to the Russian mainland, but also to the Japanese island of Hokkaido, then a Japan-Russia-EU transport corridor will be created. In this case, transportation could increase several times – up to 33–40 million tons per year, but that’s another conversation. In this situation, the project can provide an economic effect not only for the Sakhalin region and Khabarovsk Territory, but also for the whole of Russia. And it may even pay off, albeit after decades.

Technically, the task of building a bridge across the La Perouse Strait, although not easy, can be solved with modern technologies, says Alexey Kalachev from Finam Group of Companies. This will be a bridge almost 43 km long, but China has experience in building longer bridges. Another thing is that there are no ocean structures of such length in the world, especially in the harsh conditions of the Sea of ​​​​Okhotsk, Kalachev notes. The average depth in the strait is 20–40 meters, the maximum is 118. In winter, the strait is covered with ice.

But the main obstacle is the high cost. The Sakhalin-Hokkaido bridge was estimated at 400–500 billion rubles back in 2013, but now, Kalachev says, it’s probably one and a half to two times more. Considering that the construction of the Sakhalin-mainland transition will also be required, the final cost of the project may turn out to be many times higher. That is, in total, the two bridges may require more than 1 trillion rubles, and Russia will have to take on a significant part.

And it is unclear where Russia will be able to get hundreds of billions of rubles for the construction of these bridges, even if the funding is divided in half with Japan. Russia is already spending a lot on infrastructure in preparation for the World Cup and the construction of a bridge to Crimea. “In addition, the “pot” of the combined Reserve Fund and the National Welfare Fund simply does not have such capacity and will not have it in the coming years. All expense items have already been scheduled in advance,” says Anna Bodrova from Alpari.

But the most important thing is that

Japan's interest in this project is not as obvious as Russia's.

Japan receives direct rail access to all countries of Eurasia. It is expected that this route for delivering cargo to Europe will be half as long, and delivery times will be reduced by three times. Thus, by sea, cargo travels 21 thousand km in 40 days, and, for example, by Trans-Siberian Railway through the port of Vostochny, the delivery time is reduced to 18 days.

However, it is more efficient to transport large loads over long distances by sea. “A sea container ship can accommodate from 260 (the smallest) to 18 thousand TEU (standard 20-foot containers). There are already 4 ships with a capacity of 21,000 TEU under construction in the world. And you won’t be able to load more than 140 of these containers onto the longest freight train. It’s faster by train, but by sea it’s more and cheaper per unit of goods,” says Alexey Kalachev. Rail freight transportation, and even more so road freight, can only be more efficient over shorter distances.

“It is, of course, more convenient to ensure Japan’s cargo turnover with Sakhalin by direct rail links than by sea. However, it is unlikely that its volume will be able to recoup such enormous costs that this project will require,” Kalachev doubts. Japan is not yet mature enough to implement this idea, he concludes.

“If you have money, such a bridge can be built, and it will stand as majestic as the bridge to Russky Island, for example. But the demand for such infrastructure is very low, and Moscow cannot afford the price for its ambitions,” agrees Bodrova.

Discussions about building a road from the mainland to Sakhalin have been going on for decades. Even under Stalin, it was planned to build a strategic tunnel under the Tatar Strait. There is still a legend that a secret underground route for quickly transporting troops to the largest Russian island was built, but then it was mothballed. The topic of a secret tunnel is very popular among passengers languishing in Sakhalin ports waiting for the weather, but, alas, the tunnel is still nothing more than a dream. And yet, the idea of ​​a road to Sakhalin does not die, because there is great economic interest in this project.

As you know, the Japanese have long ago created a unified transport network, connecting all the main islands. The last to join this network was the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido - from the northern railway station in Wakkanai to Sakhalin is just a stone's throw away, you just have to cross the La Perouse Strait. Japan is not averse to extending the road further - from Hokkaido to Sakhalin, but on the condition that Russia does its part of the work, that is, connects Sakhalin with the mainland. In this case, a convenient route will arise for the transit of Japanese goods to Europe. That is why in recent years there has been renewed talk about the need to create a transport artery connecting Sakhalin Island with the mainland. True, now instead of a tunnel they are proposing to build a bridge across the strait. So, the first option is a tunnel, the second is a bridge, but there is also a third... a dam! More precisely, the so-called active dam, the idea of ​​which was proposed by specialists from the Russian research association Kosmopoisk. Moreover, this dam is designed to solve not only the transport problem.

Active dam

A great many dams and dams have been built in the world, and colossal experience in the construction of such objects has been accumulated. Recent examples include the construction of a dam to strengthen the coast in the area of ​​the Tuzla Spit and a dam to raise the water level in the northern part of the Aral Sea. The technologies are simpler to implement compared to underground tunneling: filling is usually done either by a directed explosion, or by a string of dump trucks, or by a single sea dredge.

The reference books indicate that the Tatar Strait has a depth of 230 meters. The distance between the banks at the narrowest point (Nevelskoy Strait) is only 7.3 kilometers, and the depth of the fairway there is no more than 8 meters. That is, the sea strait here is no deeper than a large Siberian river.

Washing a dam in the shallow Tatar Strait is not difficult: in one season, just one dredge can do it, says one of the authors of the project, head of the Kosmopoisk association, Vadim Chernobrov. - The proposed location for its construction: the area from the village of Lazarev (mainland) to the village of Pogibi (Sakhalin).

The approximate cost of the project, according to Chernobrov, is about a billion rubles. There is no need to transport soil for filling with dump trucks; the dredge will simply deepen the strait away from the dam. Ordinary road workers will be able to strengthen the walls of the dam, lay an asphalt track along its top and lay the rails in the shortest possible time. Anticipating objections from environmentalists (fish migration will stop) and sailors (shipping will stop), the authors of the project propose installing locks in the dam. These locks are useful not only for the passage of fish and ships, but we will talk about this later.

In addition to the road and locks, it is proposed to build a power plant on the dam. “This is the highlight of the project; the energy will be provided by the dam itself, the generators of which will operate on the principle of a tidal hydroelectric power station!” - says one of the project developers, until recently a researcher at the Institute of the History of Natural Science and Technology. S. I. Vavilova Sergei Alexandrov. The trick is to not waste energy when pumping water, but... to extract it. How to achieve this? Very simple. The energy of ebbs and flows will move the water. During high tide the southern locks will be open, and at low tide the northern ones will be open. In the first case, water, flowing into the central reservoir and raising its level to the high tide level, rotates the turbines of the generators. In the second case, water is poured from a central reservoir into the sea, the level of which has dropped during low tide, again rotating the hydraulic turbines.

In fact, an active dam is a simple pump that provides free energy; to service it, you just need to close and open the sluice doors in time, assures Vadim Chernobrov. - In fact, there is no mysticism in this. We simply propose to master one multi-millionth part of the energy that has been wasted for millions of years. It should be noted that an active dam cannot be built anywhere. Many factors must come together (width, depth, current speed, height difference during the ebb and flow of the tides). And the Tatar Strait is attractive because it meets all these parameters.

Climate conditioner

But the main sensation is not even the dam-power plant project itself, but the consequences that its construction could have on the climate of the entire Far Eastern region. The Strait of Tartary is something of a weak link; because of it, the climate of the Russian Far East is harsher than in other regions located at the same latitudes. “Take a look at the map of currents, which basically form the macroclimate of vast territories,” says Sergei Alexandrov. “At the same latitude as our harsh Magadan, there are Western European cities where strawberries ripen freely in the open ground.” As you know, Europe is relatively warm thanks to the warm Gulf Stream, and south of Magadan and Okhotsk there is a cold current that enters the narrow throat of the Tatar Strait and cools the Khabarovsk Territory and Sakhalin. After this, the icy waters of the current move along the coast of the Russian Far East and “freeze” Vladivostok. Vladivostok Bay, despite the fact that it is located almost at the same latitude as Sochi, regularly freezes in winter. Then the current fizzles out, and... Koreans can breathe a sigh of relief. The fact that the Russian Far East has the southernmost permafrost on Earth, and that the heating season is longer than the European one, is a merit of the cold current.

And what’s a shame: the entire coast of the Far East is covered with ice somehow one-sidedly. “Everyone who was in this harsh region in the middle of winter saw the following picture: you can’t get to the sea, the ice is in the way, but on the horizon all year round there are ships - not from our frozen ports and not to our cities closed for the winter,” continues Vadim Chernobrov. “There is never ice just a few kilometers from the shore; the warm Kuroshio current already rules there.” This warm sea “river”, 170 km wide, 0.7 km deep, with a surface water temperature of +12 to +28 degrees Celsius, flows in the opposite direction - from south to north at a speed of 0.9-2.9 km/ h. But nowhere does Kuroshio warm the Russian territory - it is reliably cut off from the coast by that same cold northern current.

So the dam will limit the access of cold water from the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and allow the warm current to unfold, which will “creep” along the coast. The project developers believe that this alone will be enough to shorten the heating season in Vladivostok by three months! On the beaches of Vladivostok and Nakhodka, where ice will never be seen again, people will sunbathe almost all year round. This can't be true? “Indeed, it can’t - we haven’t yet “sealed the gap” of the Tatar Strait, into which a cold draft “whistles,” - Vadim Chernobrov is sure. - Separately, it should be noted that the heat of Kuroshio will not “steal” from Japan. How did this current heat "It will continue to warm the land of the rising sun. Now it is only assumed that part of the current will not go into the ocean, but will be pumped to the north." Moreover, relatively warm water will be able to enter the Sea of ​​Okhotsk through the pump dam. Have you heard about the resorts on the southern shore of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk? It even sounds crazy. By the way, the places there are wild, beautiful, and the water is crystal clear.

Are there possible negative side effects? “Yes, when the permafrost melts, the piles of old houses standing on the permafrost may sag, evaporation from swamps and other troubles with which ecologists who predict the onset of global warming have frightened us and continue to frighten us,” predicts Sergei Alexandrov. “But a huge plus of the new active dam in "The fact is that it can pump water in any direction. At the request of ecologists, the process of permafrost thawing can be extended over a long period." After all, with the help of the same system of tidal pumps it is possible to pump in cold water from the north. The tidal pump of an active dam is an air conditioner that operates in all modes (heating, cooling, idling) and generates energy in any of the options, assures Sergei Alexandrov. And even if all this is actually fantasy, the idea is beautiful.

Stepan Krivosheev.

“Itogi”, No. 37, 09/11/2006.

Mikhail Lif, General Director of the 6th Expeditionary Unit of Underwater Technical Works, Kaliningrad:

As a hydraulic engineer, I don’t think this idea is crazy. Everything is quite real. The depths in the Tatar Strait are shallow, and the soils are quite acceptable for such work. In addition, the idea of ​​tidal power plants is good. The energy is obtained free of charge, and the structure carries a multifunctional load. After all, the ebb and flow of the tides are constant. Of course, the construction of such a technical structure will require large capital expenditures. By the way, at one time Stalin wanted to build a tunnel under the Tatar Strait. And today, flying over it by plane, you can see the unfinished dam. So why wouldn't there be an active dam there?

Pprojectcentury: TransmagistralTokyo -Sakhalin- London From the realm of fantasy? Let's dream a little. Why not? Perhaps some of us will be a little encouraged by this. If we recall the optimistic slogan of past years: “We were born to make a fairy tale come true!” However, some skeptics ask the question: Why is such large-scale construction being carried out with a clear sign of gigantomania, for whom are all these objects being built in Nevelsk, moreover, when the number of residents has decreased significantly and the outflow of population continues? Moreover, there are plans to change the gauge to European standards, modern railway bridges and a new station, dredging in the port, a huge modern school in the southern microdistrict, kindergartens and new housing. Infrastructure and much more. Together. All this is being done for a reason... It’s not for nothing that the government poured billions from the federal budget into a small port town on the edge of Russia for reconstruction after the 2007 earthquake. Moreover, against the background of the global crisis. When the project starts working, then others will start coming here. Then the resuscitation of the city, the region and the entire Far Eastern region will take place. If you take all this into account, then everything falls into place. And this is not just a fantastic idea. And specific projects exist and have been developed for decades at the highest level, at the level of government, ministries and design organizations. Both from the Russian and Japanese sides. And in order not to be unfounded, we will cite documents and official developments as illustrations, and cover this topic more specifically. Sakhalin-Hokkaido tunnel-- a project that will connect Japan through the Sakhalin Tunnel located in the project with the Eurasian transport system. The estimated cost of the project is 50 billion US dollars. A year ago, in January 2009, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Andrei Nedosekov announced that the possibility of building a Sakhalin-Hokkaido railway tunnel was being considered. The tunnel would stretch approximately 45 km between Cape Krillon of Sakhalin and Cape Soya of Hokkaido. Further through Sakhalin to the Sakhalin tunnel, the possibility of construction of which has already been announced by the Russian government. Today, the island of Hokkaido is connected by the longest underwater tunnel (Seikan) with the largest Japanese island - Honshu. Thus, this would make it possible to connect the railway networks of Russia and Japan. The project could replace the proposed undersea tunnel between Japan and South Korea, as planning and construction of many of the necessary railway facilities on Sakhalin Island are already well underway. In addition, this tunnel would be significantly shorter than the tunnel between Japan and Korea. Construction decision The idea of ​​building a tunnel to Sakhalin was put forward at the end of the 19th century, but due to economic inexpediency and lack of funds it was never realized. Research on the construction of a tunnel was undertaken in 1929-1930. In 1950, Stalin came up with the idea of ​​connecting Sakhalin to the mainland by rail. Options with a ferry crossing, a bridge and a tunnel were considered. Project The technical conditions for the design of the tunnel and adjacent railways were approved by the USSR Council of Ministers back in 1950. On the territory of Sakhalin, the length of the railway line from Pobedino station to Cape Pogibi (the beginning of the tunnel) was supposed to be 327 km. The axis of the tunnel under the Tatar Strait began at the Pogibi crossing. The length of the tunnel itself from Cape Pogibi on Sakhalin to Cape Lazarev on the mainland was supposed to be about 10 km (the narrowest section of the strait was chosen), its route ran north of the ferry crossing. On the mainland, it was planned to build a branch from Cape Lazarev to Selikhin station on the Komsomolsk-on-Amur - Sovetskaya Gavan section. The completion of construction with the organization of a temporary ferry crossing was scheduled for the end of 1953, and the commissioning of the tunnel was planned for the end of 1955. The total cargo turnover of the designed line in the first years of its operation was envisaged at 4 million tons per year. The construction of railway lines to the tunnel was carried out mainly by Gulag prisoners, on Sakhalin it was Construction 506 (Tymovskoye village), on the mainland - Construction 507 (De-Kastri village). By the beginning of 1953, the total number of railway builders on both sides of the strait was more than 27,000 people. Preparations for the construction of a tunnel on the mainland were carried out by parolees, civilian specialists and military personnel (Construction 6). After the death of Stalin and the mass amnesty of prisoners, work on the entire project was curtailed. Many argue that the amnesty that followed Stalin’s funeral put an end to the tunnel - there was practically no one to continue construction. It is not true. Of our eight thousand early released, no more than two hundred left. And the remaining eight months waited for the order to resume construction. On the mainland, 120 km of broad gauge railway were built along the right bank of the Amur from Selikino station to Black Cape station. In the area of ​​the ferry crossing, dams were filled (their remains are still visible today), and preparatory work was carried out on the construction of piers. At Cape Lazarev, from where they planned to build a tunnel, a mine shaft was dug, and an artificial island with a diameter of 90 m was poured 1.6 km from the coast. On Sakhalin, work was carried out in the worst conditions, and not a single kilometer of railway was ever built. The work carried out to prepare the route (earthwork, clearing, etc.) made it possible to build the Nysh - Pogibi dirt road, which in Soviet times was used for the removal of wood. Post-Soviet projects The idea of ​​​​building a tunnel crossing through the Tatar Strait survived the Soviet Union. Similar proposals were made in 1992 by the head of the Sakhalin Railway, A. B. Vasiliev. In 1999, Minister of Railways Nikolai Aksyonenko announced the need to develop a project to connect the railway network of Sakhalin with the mainland; in 2000, representatives of design organizations conducted a survey of the area. Implementation has not started. The current state is reflected in the Project for the development of the railway transport network of the Russian Federation until 2015. year 2009 Igor Levitin: Russia intends to create a transport corridor from Japan to Eurasia through Sakhalin As part of a business visit to Tokyo, the head of the Ministry of Transport, Igor Levitin, invited Japanese businessmen to participate in construction. So far, the deadline for completing the creation of the transition goes beyond 2015, but they can be revised, namely reduced, if the Japanese side is interested in this, Deputy Minister of Transport Andrei Nedosekov emphasized to the RG correspondent. He explained that Japanese companies can participate in the competition to design and build the crossing. The project to connect Sakhalin Island with the mainland by permanent rail service involves laying rails from the Selikhin railway station, located on the Baikal-Amur Mainline near the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, to the Nysh station, located on Sakhalin Island. As Andrey Nedosekov noted, the total length of the railway line is 582 kilometers. As for the transition from the mainland to Sakhalin, there are three construction options: a tunnel under the strait with a length of 12.4 kilometers, an embankment dam - 16 kilometers with a shipping canal, a bridge crossing - 6.6 kilometers. In his opinion, the project is especially interesting for the Japanese side if we consider it in parallel with the connection of Sakhalin and Hokkaido by rail. In this case, Japan receives direct rail access to all countries of Eurasia. At the same time, when transporting goods to the countries of Western and Eastern Europe, the transportation distance will be reduced by half, and the delivery time by three times, the deputy minister stated. By sea, cargo now travels 21 thousand kilometers in 40 days. On the Trans-Siberian Railway through the Vostochny port, the delivery time is on average 18 days. As for the residents of Sakhalin, as Rostislav Goldstein, deputy chairman of the Committee on Problems of the North and Far East, told RG, the road will create jobs for the construction and operation of the Japan-Russia-Eurasia railway corridor. According to his forecasts, the implementation of a major international project will cause an influx of investment in the region, which will have a positive impact on the social sphere. Reducing the cost of cargo delivery will increase the standard of living of Sakhalin residents. In addition, a project of this level will strengthen Russia’s position. The largest cable-stayed bridge in the world between Russky Island and Vladivostok can be considered an already completed project in the Far East. It is planned to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2012 for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Igor Levitin explained in an interview with ITAR-TASS. The new air complex in Vladivostok with a capacity of up to 1.5 thousand passengers per hour should also be in time for APEC, but it will be built with borrowed funds. The Sheremetyevo International Airport company has been entrusted with searching for them. Japanese investors have already become interested in the Vladivostok air gates. Source: Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Transit potential of Russia The connection of the Trans-Siberian Railway with the Japanese railway network will create a transit corridor between Japan and Europe, opening the way for non-transshipment transportation of goods between the two economic poles "from door to door", without long sea transportation. The volume of transit along this route is estimated at 10-12 million tons per year. According to experts, in 30-40 years it may double and exceed 20 million tons. Freight turnover between Russia and Japan by this time may also exceed 20 million tons. If we take into account the powerful resource potential of Russian territories, the load on the trans-highway may be even greater . In Japan itself, the idea of ​​a transhighway is of national interest. A public organization “For the Connection of Japan with the Eurasian Continent” has been created there, promoting the project and facilitating its implementation. The cost of the project is tentatively estimated at 10-15 billion dollars. (plus the cost of laying a railway from Komsomolsk-on-Amur to Cape Lazarev). The implementation of the project involves three key stages: the first - the construction of a railway crossing from the mainland to the island ("mainland-Sakhalin"); the second is the construction of a passage between the islands of Sakhalin and Hokkaido (“Sakhalin-Japan”); the third is the reconstruction of the Sakhalin railway. Let's look at these stages in more detail. Construction of a railway crossing "Mainland-Sakhalin" Two options for such a transition have been proposed: tunnel and bridge. The “tunnel option” is the most developed and has already begun to be implemented. Let's give him a brief description. Construction of a tunnel. The idea of ​​connecting Sakhalin Island with the mainland by rail was first considered in the late 1930s. At the same time, the option of building a tunnel under the Tatar Strait with a length of 8 km (from Cape Lazarev to Cape Pogibi) was proposed. Pre-design and preparatory work began, but they were interrupted by the Great Patriotic War. Work resumed in 1947. A feasibility study for the design was soon approved, and in May 1950, the USSR Council of Ministers decided to build a line from Komsomolsk-on-Amur to Pobedino (on Sakhalin) with a transition tunnel providing reliable access via railway to the ice-free Sakhalin ports. The idea of ​​the tunnel was not an adventure of a totalitarian regime or a whim of a dictator, as it was later portrayed. It was based on sober engineering calculations (Russia has always been famous for its engineers), taking into account development trends and long-term state interests. The tunnel even then seemed to be a more profitable option compared to a ferry crossing or a bridge crossing. Construction began in the summer of 1951 and was carried out by prisoners and Japanese prisoners of war. In two years, 120 km of rail track were laid, a large amount of preparatory work was completed on the tunnel (research was carried out, portal excavations began, a mine shaft was laid on the mainland, construction of a power plant began). For faster construction of the tunnel, it was planned to attract workers from China and North Korea as part of international assistance. With the outbreak of the Korean War, construction slowed. After the death of I. Stalin, work stopped altogether, including the construction of the Sakhalin tunnel. The dam extending under the Tatar Strait is still visible from the mainland side and from the island side. Only twenty years later (in 1973) the Vanino-Kholmsk ferry crossing across the Tatar Strait came into operation. Today it remains the only road to the “mainland”, although it no longer meets the cargo transportation needs of the island and the region. Powerful and unique ferries, the pride of the Far Eastern fleet, are morally and physically obsolete (out of ten ferries, only five now remain). In addition, the ferry crossing, due to harsh natural and climatic conditions, cannot ensure continuity of transportation. The warm period in this area does not exceed 5 months, and frequent cyclones and strong winds, raising waves up to 4 meters, make it difficult for ships to operate. As a result, despite year-round transportation, ferries actually operate only for six months, which is clearly not enough for a reliable connection between the mainland and Sakhalin. Therefore, the idea of ​​​​building a railway crossing to the island has again become relevant. The continuation of this transport corridor from Sakhalin to the island. Hokkaido will make it possible to create a completely unique railway that will successfully compete with the sea route for the delivery of transit cargo from the Asia-Pacific region to Europe. Half a century later, the Ministry of Railways resumed the development of a feasibility study for the tunnel. There is already a project to create a direct transport connection with Sakhalin, developed in the mid-1990s. a creative team of leading specialists from the Tunnel Association, Mosgiprotrans, Metrogiprotrans and a number of other design and scientific organizations. Reliable transport connections with Sakhalin are also important because large-scale exploration and production work has been launched on the island and its shelf within the framework of the Sakhalin-1, Sakhalin-2 and Sakhalin-3 projects (including by foreign companies). oil. According to expert forecasts, the volume of transportation between the island and the mainland may already increase to 30 million tons per year in the medium term. The Vanino-Kholmsk ferry in its current form will no longer be able to cope with such a cargo flow, and restoring its former power will cost more than building a tunnel or bridge. It is also important that the railway crossing, unlike the ferry crossing, will reliably connect Sakhalin with the mainland, eliminate the dependence of transport communications on seasonal and weather conditions, and ensure regularity of transportation (storms, strong currents and difficult ice conditions in the Tatar Strait will no longer stop traffic cargo). Just like fifty years ago, the construction of the railway crossing is facilitated by the geopolitical situation. Only now it is fundamentally different and is not associated with confrontation, as during the Cold War. Now the accelerating factor is the need for integration of Russia and the Asia-Pacific countries. Japanese businessmen and industrialists are interested in implementing the project. Firstly, the transit corridor through Siberia will reduce the cost of transporting Japanese goods to Europe (savings from delivering one container to Central Europe via the Trans-Siberian Railway are tentatively estimated at $500). Secondly, the interests of the development of Japanese industry require the import of various raw materials from other countries, which are available in abundance in the regions of Siberia and the Far East, through which the Trans-Siberian and Baikal-Amur Railways pass. In addition, the tunnel will provide Russia with reliable access to three ice-free ports on Sakhalin, and this will improve transport services to Magadan, Kamchatka and the eastern sector of the Arctic, and will reduce existing sea communications by 500-1200 km, which is equivalent to the release of 10 sea vessels in one navigation period. From a technical point of view, building a tunnel does not present any particular difficulties. The width of the strait at its narrowest point is only 7.8 km (for comparison: the width of the English Channel is about 40 km, the Tsugaru Strait in Japan, through which the tunnel is also built, is 54 km). Construction duration is 2-3 years, estimated cost is more than 3 billion dollars. (total cost of the project is 10-15 billion dollars). The payback period for the tunnel is 8-10 years. Bridge crossing. As an alternative to the tunnel, another idea has been proposed - the construction of a complex bridge crossing across the Nevelskoy Strait. Its authors are a number of employees of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. They propose combining railway and road crossings, as well as oil and gas pipelines, in one structure. It was even proposed to place low-speed turbines for wave and tidal power plants in the body of the bridge, as well as use supports for the development of aquacultures of many useful marine organisms. At the same time, a railway bridge, due to difficult climatic conditions, may be less reliable and more difficult to operate compared to a tunnel. Construction of the Sakhalin-Japan railway crossing The railway crossing from the continental part of Russia to the island of Sakhalin is only the first stage of the transcontinental project. The second stage is the construction of a railway crossing between the islands of Hokkaido and Sakhalin. In this case, Sakhalin will turn into a kind of land bridge between Russia and Japan. This idea was discussed by Japanese experts in the late 1960s. Various projects were considered. One of them involved laying an underwater tunnel through the Tsushima Strait to South Korea. However, its implementation at that time was associated with a number of difficulties, mainly due to the high cost of the work and the lack of reliable technologies for digging underwater tunnels of considerable length and at great depths. Even then, the opinion was expressed that it was much faster and cheaper to connect the railways of Japan with the Trans-Siberian Railway through the island. Sakhalin, having previously laid underwater tunnels between the Tsugaru, La Perouse and Nevelskoy straits. Only 30 years later did the prerequisites for the implementation of the idea appear. At the end of the 1980s. The Seikan Tunnel (53.9 km long) was built, laid at a depth of 140 m. Ten years later, the islands of the Japanese archipelago of Honshu (on which Tokyo is located) and Hokkaido were connected. Thus, to connect Japan with the Eurasian continent, only three stages remain to be completed. First, to build a tunnel between the islands of Hokkaido and Sakhalin (through the La Perouse Strait) approximately 50 km long (the deepest point here is 71 m, which is comparable to the Seikan tunnel already operating in Japan). Secondly, to complete the construction begun in the early 1950s. an underwater tunnel between Sakhalin and the mainland (or a railway bridge across the Nevelskoy Strait). Thirdly, reconstruct the railway on Sakhalin. Modern technologies make it possible to complete such work in a very short time. As a result, the Japanese railway network will be connected to Russian railways, and through them to the railway network of Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, island Japan will turn into a continental country. Considering that in the 1990s. The Eurotunnel was built under the English Channel (50.5 km), connecting England and France; a direct international train from Tokyo through Siberia to London could become a reality. Cargo to Japan can be delivered (without transshipment) door-to-door. Features of the Sakhalin Railway In the project under consideration, Sakhalin should serve as a kind of bridge connecting the Trans-Siberian Railway with the Japanese railway network. Therefore, a few words need to be said about the only island railway in Russia. Until October 1991, it was part of the Far Eastern Road as a structural unit with the rights of the Sakhalin branch. Now it is an independent unit, part of the Russian Ministry of Railways. Throughout its entire length from north to south (about 1 thousand km), the road has a narrow (1067 mm) gauge. This standard was adopted at the beginning of the twentieth century, after the signing of the Portsmouth Peace in 1905. It was then, with the end of the Russo-Japanese War, that the southern part of the island was transferred to Japan, so the railway track was designed and built according to Japanese narrow gauge standards. The cargo and passenger flow goes through 32 stations. Passenger carriages are Japanese. The freight rolling stock is of domestic production (created in the 1960s specifically for the Japanese narrow gauge standard). Now this is holding back the growth of freight traffic, as are the small dimensions of tunnels and bridges. Communication with the mainland is carried out through the Vanino-Kholmsk sea ferry crossing, operating year-round, owned by the Sakhalin Shipping Company. The arrival of the Trans-Siberian Railway on the island will speed up the reconstruction of the road (it will be rebuilt to a 1524 mm gauge) and will give impetus to the development of the entire Sakhalin region. Through the island it will be possible to deliver cargo to Russian eastern ice-free ports all year round. In the future, the Sakhalin road will become an integral part of the international transit corridor Japan-Russia-Europe. The problem of different track widths The different gauges on the railways of Russia, Japan and Western Europe are one of the biggest problems hindering the transit of international trains through several countries (in Russia the gauge is 1524 mm, the standard gauge of the Japanese super express is 1435 mm, the narrow gauge of Japanese roads -- 1067 mm). Therefore, when crossing borders, it is necessary to change train platforms. This problem can be successfully solved thanks to new platform cars with a free gauge (free quide). The technology was developed by the Japanese Research Institute of Railway Technology. It allows you to very quickly, in just a few minutes, at a train speed of 80 km/h, switch from one track to another; Currently, such a transition takes several hours. The new technology can be successfully used at points of movement between Russia and Japan, in the Europe-Russia transition. New flat cars with variable gauge, developed in Japan, are being successfully tested, including in severe frost conditions (down to minus 40-45 degrees Celsius), for their use on the Trans-Siberian Railway. *** All this is wonderful. It's just a matter of small things: All that remains is to find investors and some 15 billion. dollars. Investors will find themselves when they see real investment opportunities and the work to implement the project in action. There is an opinion that if Russia begins to build a bridge or tunnel between Sakhalin and the mainland, then the Japanese side will bear the costs of connecting Hokkaido with Sakhalin. Only one question arises: Will you and I live to see great achievements? And here, by the way, the unforgettable words of the famous Russian poet Nekrasov came to mind: “It’s a pity, but neither I nor you will have to live in this beautiful time.” Wait and see. Based on materials from Russian media.

Island Japan, with the help of Russia, is capable of becoming a continental power. At least, this is exactly the phrase Deputy Prime Minister Shuvalov used when speaking about the possibility of building a bridge between Sakhalin and Hokkaido. But if the meaning of this gigantic project for Moscow is to some extent visible, then for Tokyo its effect is far from so obvious.

Russia and Japan are discussing the construction of a bridge between Hokkaido and Sakhalin, said First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov.

“We seriously suggest that our Japanese partners consider the construction of a mixed road-rail crossing from Hokkaido to the southern part of Sakhalin. At the same time, we are close to starting our part of the work - bringing the railway to the Pacific coast and building the same complex transition from the mainland to Sakhalin. In this case, this will provide additional opportunities to use our railway infrastructure, and Japan will become a continental power,” said the First Deputy Prime Minister, speaking at the economic forum in Vladivostok, Interfax reports.

“Is it possible to do this? Perhaps, with modern technology, it is not even that expensive. And we are seriously discussing this with our Japanese partners,” he added.

Shuvalov is talking about two bridges. One should connect Sakhalin Island with the mainland through the Nevelskoy Strait, the other - Sakhalin Island with the Japanese island of Hokkaido through the La Perouse Strait.

The idea of ​​this project has been discussed for a very long time. They dreamed of connecting Sakhalin with the mainland even under Stalin. At the time, these plans looked fantastic, but modern technology has changed a lot. Russia has already built a bridge to Russky Island in Vladivostok and is already very close to the appearance of the Kerch Bridge connecting the Crimean peninsula with mainland Russia. Various options for connecting Sakhalin with the mainland were discussed: from the possibility of building a tunnel or dam with a shipping canal to a bridge crossing in various combinations.

Why was the decision and construction of the Kerch Bridge so quick, but the Sakhalin-mainland bridge has not yet been built? The problem is the economy. With the Crimean Bridge in this regard, everything is very clear - it will become a real impetus for the economic development of the peninsula, and no one doubts the prospects for traffic growth. And, of course, connecting Crimea with the rest of Russia is extremely important from a political point of view.

The appearance of the mainland-island transition will undoubtedly accelerate the development of the Khabarovsk Territory and the Sakhalin Region, this will mean new jobs, tax revenues, etc. Now all goods and food products are delivered to Sakhalin by sea, so their cost is significantly higher than the Russian average. However, Sakhalin is not Crimea; local cargo turnover is much more modest. The appearance of a bridge or tunnel to the mainland will increase transportation along the Selikhin-Nysh line to 9.2 million tons per year. Considering the cost of the bridge, this is not enough.

The bridge crossing across the Nevelskoy Strait itself will cost 286 billion rubles, which is almost 60 billion more than the construction of the Kerch Bridge (228 billion rubles). However, this is not the final cost. As part of the project, it is planned to build a railway from the Selizin station, on the Baikal-Amur Mainline near the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, to the Nysh station, located on Sakhalin Island. Taking this into account, the total cost of the project could rise to 400 billion rubles or even more.

If Sakhalin is connected not only to the Russian mainland, but also to the Japanese island of Hokkaido, then a Japan-Russia-EU transport corridor will be created. In this case, transportation could increase several times – up to 33-40 million tons per year, but that’s another conversation. In this situation, the project can have an economic effect not only for the Sakhalin region and Khabarovsk Territory, but also for the whole of Russia. And it may even pay off, albeit after decades.

Technically, the task of building a bridge across the La Perouse Strait, although not easy, can be solved with modern technologies, says Alexey Kalachev from Finam Group of Companies. This will be a bridge almost 43 km long, but China has experience in building longer bridges. Another thing is that there are no ocean structures of such length in the world, especially in the harsh conditions of the Sea of ​​​​Okhotsk, Kalachev notes. The average depth in the strait is 20-40 meters, the maximum is 118. In winter, the strait is covered with ice.

But the main obstacle is the high cost. The Sakhalin-Hokkaido bridge was estimated at 400-500 billion rubles back in 2013, and now, Kalachev says, it’s probably one and a half to two times more. Considering that the construction of the Sakhalin-mainland crossing will also be required, the final cost of the project may turn out to be many times higher. That is, in total, the two bridges may require more than 1 trillion rubles, and Russia will have to take on a significant part.

And it is unclear where Russia will be able to get hundreds of billions of rubles for the construction of these bridges, even if the funding is divided in half with Japan. Russia is currently spending a lot on infrastructure in preparation for the World Cup and the construction of a bridge to Crimea. “In addition, the “pot” of the combined Reserve Fund and the National Welfare Fund simply does not have such capacity and will not have it in the coming years. All expense items have already been booked in advance,” says Anna Bodrova from Alpari.

But the most important thing is that,

Japan's interest in this project is not as obvious as Russia's.

Japan receives direct rail access to all countries of Eurasia. It is expected that this route for delivering cargo to Europe will be half as long, and delivery times will be reduced by three times. Thus, by sea, cargo travels 21 thousand km in 40 days, and, for example, by Trans-Siberian Railway through the port of Vostochny, the delivery time is reduced to 18 days.

However, it is more efficient to transport large loads over long distances by sea. “A sea container ship can accommodate from 260 (the smallest) to 18 thousand TEU (standard 20-foot containers). There are already 4 ships with a capacity of 21,000 TEU under construction in the world. And you won’t be able to load more than 140 of these containers onto the longest freight train. It’s faster by train, but by sea it’s more and cheaper per unit of goods,” says Alexey Kalachev. Rail freight transportation, and even more so road freight, can only be more efficient over shorter distances.

“It is, of course, more convenient to ensure Japan’s cargo turnover with Sakhalin by direct rail links than by sea. However, it is unlikely that its volume will be able to recoup such enormous costs that this project will require,” Kalachev doubts. Japan is not yet mature enough to implement this idea, he concludes.

“If you have money, such a bridge can be built, and it will stand as majestic as the bridge to Russky Island, for example. But the demand for such infrastructure is very low, and Moscow cannot afford the price for its ambitions,” agrees Bodrova.

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