the long-Awaited event. Opened the longest railway bridge in Europe across the Kerch Strait. 23 Dec from Kerch in Taman via railway passed by President Vladimir Putin. 24th at two o’clock from the Moscow station in St. Petersburg to Sevastopol on the company train “Tavria” went to the first passengers. Crimean bridge, finally running at full power. Megastroyka — in less than four years. Unbelievable.
Here it is, a dream! Bright and so long-awaited. On the clock — two in the morning, but if not-try again! In the dining car — the endless celebration, because it is history. And the whole train does not sleep – he rejoices. Incredible and certainly unforgettable journey across the country in the Crimea.
At full speed he races over the bridge — the first passenger. And all of a sudden slows down. In the heart of the Kerch Strait is a special, extraordinary beauty of the moment. In the predawn darkness of the arch glowing colors of the Russian flag.
This road is now visible even from space. The longest in Europe and the largest in the country. More than the bridge. The dream of generations, that finally became a reality.
Four years is like one second. That’s really the project of the century. Where endless storms and ice, friable, silty bottom, now is most handsome. In spite of everything. Engineers, builders did seems impossible. In record time. The Grand finale of the great work.
the New Crimean horizons, and with them the incredible prospects. The two banks of the same country is now forever linked with the steel thread of the railroad. Station Kerch-Yuzhnaya. Front is 19 kilometers on the other side of the Kerch Strait.
When the first passenger was getting ready to leave, Vladimir Putin together with the builders has opened traffic on the bridge. It’s a tradition.
the Velvet path between two seas. So soft that even the clatter is not heard. Outside the window flashed scenery, on the table, clanking the Cup holders. Romance of the railway. And talk, of course — on construction.
“Remember, the basic head with a simple Russian name Rotenberg called at night and spoke in such a voice.. I asked: are you drunk or what? He says: what, no one even close to any bottle not come. And then said very good words: only Russian people can do it,” recalled the President.
“This is the result of much effort. It’s not the end of the story. I think this team will build lots and lots of objects that will please Russia,” said Arkady Rotenberg, the owner of the company “SGM-Bridge”.
thousands of workers from across the country have once again proved that in Russia there is nothing impossible. And now, from the Baltic sea to the Black going on a journey “seven” passenger train “Tavria”. From the capital North — to the city-hero Sevastopol.
raw and gray St. Petersburg winter “Tavria” takes passengers on the Crimean coast. On schedule. So that even the head of the train I have to catch up. To jump into the last car — also adventure. Because we still have 43 hours and almost 3000 miles.
But this route is historical. The first trains through the Kerch Strait went right after the liberation of the Crimea. Then, in the distant 1944, Alfred Dulisma was only six. Together with his mother, he was returning from evacuation. “I was driving on the composition, which consisted of platforms, without a roof, without sides,” he recalls.
However, the bridge did not stand for long. In the first winter of its supports were destroyed by ice. New not afraid of no ice, or earthquake.
Emotions that do not hold back, and happiness that cannot be taken away — Crimea meets “Tavria”. The first stop — first impressions of the driver: “All is well. And the train goes smoothly, and the passengers satisfied.”
And at every station, with hundreds of people. Those who believed and waited, and even kiss train. After a long separation it is a warm welcome.
And these meetings now, of course, will be more. From St. Petersburg to Sevastopol from Moscow to Simferopol and back. And in the summer there will be new areas. And then the Peninsula waiting for a real tourist boom. 14 million passengers per year, and a cargo of 13 million tonnes. Still to come. A Crimean bridge is history. A bridge that for centuries.
Text: “News of the week”