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Soviet Union [USSR] The Postwar Period, 1946-60
During the postwar recovery period, the railroads played a key
role in rebuilding the national economy, in both the industrial and
the agricultural sectors. To enable the railroads to carry out
assignments, improvements had to be made in traction equipment,
rolling stock, roadbeds, stations, yards, and traffic control
equipment. New diesel-electric and electric locomotives were
produced, and heavier rails allowed increased axle loads and train
speeds. Automatic block signaling systems also contributed to
higher speeds and better traffic control. Electrified lines were
slowly extended. Although the Fourth Five-Year Plan (1945-50)
provided for the restoration of damaged rolling stock and rail
facilities, the Fifth Five-Year Plan (1951-55) emphasized new
construction. The plan's goals were severely underfulfilled, mainly
in production of freight cars, trackage, and other equipment, but
freight turnover was 57 percent above plan. This achievement was
made possible by increased train loads, higher operating speeds,
more efficient loading and off-loading procedures, and higher labor
productivity. The higher speeds and higher number of average daily
runs of locomotives hauling freight were made possible by growing
numbers of diesel-electric and electric locomotives coming into
service.
At the urging of CPSU first secretary Nikita S. Khrushchev, in
the late 1950s electrification proceeded on some high-density
passenger and freight lines. Khrushchev gave priority to railroads
in the Ural Mountains area and to those connecting the Urals with
southeastern and central European areas and with Siberia and other
eastern regions. By the end of 1960, the railroads had a network of
125,800 kilometers of lines, some 13,800 kilometers of which were
electrified.
Beginning in the early 1960s, the railroads experienced a
period of prosperity. Freight traffic grew rapidly, by 59 percent
between 1961 and 1970, while passenger traffic increased by 50
percent. New equipment improved labor productivity. More electric
and diesel-electric locomotives entering service, combined with
improved tracks and roadbeds, increased net train weights and
speeds. In the late 1960s, as the growth of net train weights and
speeds leveled off, train density--the number of trains moving on
a given track--increased, thus allowing further increases in
freight carried. Nevertheless, in the early 1970s train
productivity continued to grow, but at declining rates. By 1975 the
railroads reached their limits in terms of traffic density and
train speeds and weights. Subsequently, the railroads strained to
satisfy the demands of the national economy. Between 1977 and 1982,
the total tonnage of shipments stagnated, increasing only from
3.723 billion
tons originated (see Glossary) to 3.725 billion tons
originated. Other indicators dropped--such as the average daily
distance traveled by locomotives and cars, and speeds--the result
of ever increasing track congestion. Additional factors
contributing to poor railroad performance in the late 1970s and
early 1980s were a deteriorating labor discipline and a decline in
the quality of repairs and maintenance.
In 1983 recovery from the slump started when managers reduced
traffic congestion and made train and other operations more
efficient. Use of electrically synchronized double and triple
engines made running heavier trains possible and reduced traffic
congestion.
In the late 1980s, railroads carried a larger share of freight
and passengers longer distances than any other transportation
system in the Soviet Union. In 1986 railroads transported 3.8
trillion ton-kilometers of freight, or a 47 percent share of all
freight carried by all systems (see
table 39, Appendix A). At the
end of 1986, the railroads reached a length of 145,600 kilometers,
of which 50,600 kilometers, or almost 35 percent, were electrified.
Data as of May 1989
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