The reconstruction of the receiving and dispatching yard E at Orsha-Tsentralnaya station will be completed in 2014

July 25, Orsha /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. The Belarusian Railway's project to extend the arrival-departure park E at Orsha-Central station will be completed in early 2014. This was announced today to journalists by Oleg Menshikov, Deputy Head of the Minsk Division of Belarusian Railway, in response to a question from a BELTA correspondent. According to him, the large-scale implementation of this project began in April of this year. The implementation period is scheduled for 22 months. The cost is Br22 billion at 2006 prices, or over Br144 billion at current prices. Belarusian Railway is the source of project financing. In accordance with the project (developed by the Institute "Belzheldorproekt"), it is planned to extend tracks No. 21-25 to 100 or more conventional wagons and build 26 bypass tracks. Great attention will be paid to the application of technical innovations during the construction work. In particular, it is planned to use a technological solution for detecting defects in rolling stock, including automated reading of wagon numbers (while the train is in motion). The project provides for the sectionalization of the park's lighting system, which will allow for separate switching of lighting on individual tracks and junctions, thereby significantly reducing electricity consumption while ensuring the necessary illumination level for train processing. The entrance switches of the park will be equipped with a modern electric heating system, and park E itself will be equipped with modern video surveillance and remote lighting systems. In addition, the construction of a utility building for station workers, a wagon depot, and a track, signaling, and communications division is planned. It will house dining rooms, showers, locker rooms, drying rooms, and storage areas for equipment. Heating will be autonomous, using heat pumps that utilize earth energy. Upon completion of the project, the station tracks will be extended by 6.5 km. The reconstruction project of park E is one of the components of the global concept for the development of the Orsha railway hub. "Its implementation will significantly expand the capabilities of Belarusian Railway in transporting transit cargo, reduce operating costs and the operating locomotive fleet, improve the quality for cargo senders, and effectively double its throughput capacity," emphasized Oleg Menshikov, noting that the park reconstruction will optimize the processing of long trains not only in the eastbound direction to Russia but also partially in the westbound direction. The implementation of this project is extremely important for Belarusian Railway, as the station handles a large flow of not only long and heavy trains but also trains of increased weight and length, while the arrival-departure tracks of its parks are designed for trains of 60 conventional wagons on average. Orsha station is the largest railway hub in Belarus, located at the intersection of two European transport corridors. It connects six railway directions and ensures the passage and processing of key transit cargo flows. Approximately 5.3 thousand passengers depart from Orsha station daily. The development concept for the Orsha railway hub also includes the reconstruction project of transit park K for odd-numbered trains and the reconstruction of the Orsha-Central station building with the construction of an overhead pedestrian crossing to the central part of the building.-0-