Русский
The relaunch of railway transport along the Skovorodino-Reynovo railway line is scheduled for 2026, according to Alexey Mestnikov, the Deputy General Director for Strategic Development of Yakutia Railways. This railway line leads to the Dzhalinda mixed checkpoint on the border with China and was mothballed in the early 2000s due to low freight traffic.
Now this transport corridor, which provides Yakutia with direct access to the PRC, is being restored. At the first stage, transportation will be carried out in a limited mode, but in the future, a full-fledged combined road-rail bridge will be built at the border section. Work is to begin this year.
Mestnikov said that “During 2026, ₽800 million (US$10.5 million) from the Russian investment programme has been allocated for the reconstruction of the Skovorodino-Reynovo line. With this money we must repair the first 20 km of the total 68 km of the railway line. The start of freight transportation to China is scheduled for 2026. We will transport cargo by rail to the 10th kilometre of the Skovorodino-Reynovo railway section, then switch to road transport and transport goods through the Dzhalinda mixed checkpoint on the border with China.”
At the first stage, the transportation of goods in this section will be a multimodal scheme in open-type containers.
Mestnikov added that “A delegation from Yakutia Railways was recently in China, where they met with the Mohe city government and inspected the Lianying checkpoint. This checkpoint is ready to operate, and the Chinese side is currently waiting for the Russian side to start transporting goods.” Mohe is China’s northernmost city, with a 245 km border with Russia’s Amur Oblast and Zabaykalsky Krai, primarily formed by the Amur River.
According to Alexey Mestnikov, on the Russian side, the restoration of the Dzhalinda checkpoint should be completed by the middle of 2026 to ensure the launch of transportation through this border section by the end of the year.
The restoration of the Dzhalinda checkpoint, mothballed in the early 2000s due to low freight traffic, and the Skovorodino-Reynovo railway line is part of a significant project to create a new transport corridor to China. It will add about 2,000 km of new track and reduce the distance for the export of Yakutian cargo and raw materials.
At the first stage, transport along the revised route will be performed using road and rail, with additional plans to build a dual-purpose, road-railway bridge over the Amur River at this section of the Russian-Chinese border.
