Passenger trains return to Moscow-Grozny route

On Tuesday the first passenger train will arrive in Moscow from Grozny for the first time in five years, the Russian Railways press service said.

The train left Grozny at 11.30 a.m. Moscow time on May 30. A festive rally was held on the railway station on this occasion with chief of the North-Caucasian Railways Vladimir Vorobyov and representatives of the Chechen authorities attending.

In 2000-2003 2,823,500,000 rubles were spent on the restoration of the Chechen transport infrastructure. The restoration expenses exceeded 184 million rubles in the first four months of 2004 ($1=29 rubles).

16 billion rubles will be allocated from the federal budget on the restoration of the Chechen railways infrastructure and the Russian Railways joint stock company will spend 2.4 billion rubles for these purposes.

It will happen in case the program of the restoration of the Chechen railways infrastructure is included in the target program of the Republic's social and economic recovery, Russian Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref said during his recent trip to Grozny.

The railway stations in Grozny, Gudermes, Ishcherskaya, Naurskaya, Terek, Chervlennaya, Chervlennaya-uzlovaya, Argun and some other railway objects have been restored in Chechnya.

"The restoration of a number of railway objects allowed to resume the passenger, cargo and suburban railway traffic in the Chechen Republic," the Russian Railways press release says.

60,000 cars with various cargoes were delivered to the republic in 2000-2003. For instance, 749,400 tons of cargoes were taken to Chechnya by rail in 2003.