Trans-Siberian Railroad Traffic Steady Despite Snow Cyclone in Southern Far East

340 railwaymen kept duty at the Primorye section of the Transsiberian railroad all last night because of the arrival to the south of the Russian Far East of a snow cyclone. So far, no failures in the traffic of cargo and passenger trains have been reported.

The press center of the Far Eastern railroad told RIA Novosti on Monday that snow cleaning vehicles and self-propelled ventilation devices were used in the directions to Vladivostok and Nakhodka. Large consignments of coal, wood, oil products and metal continue to arrive in the sea ports of these cities.

In southern Primorye the Transsiberian railroad goes along the most difficult section - the Sikhote-Alin mountain passes. Steep ups and downs force railwaymen to take special security measures and to resort to additional locomotive traction even in the summer, and many trains can cover these section with the help of bank locomotives only.

The cyclone which has brought about abundant snowfalls has drastically complicated the work of railwaymen and snow cleaning machines.

On Monday, as many as 800 workers of the Vladivostok section of the Far Eastern railroad were involved in the fight against snow and snow-wreaths. Another 400 people from other sections of the railroad have also been sent to fight the element.