August 6 in Russia celebrates Railway Forces Day
For the first time, the date of the holiday was officially set by the decree of the President of Russia dated 19 July 1996 of the Year “On the establishment of the Day of Railway Troops of the Russian Federation”. Currently, the holiday is celebrated as a memorable day in accordance with the 18 decree of July 2006 of the year “On the establishment of professional holidays and memorable days in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation”.
Railway troops are special troops whose purpose is the construction, rehabilitation, operation and technical cover of railways, which are used for military transport. His history these formations have been taken since 6 August 1851, when Russian Emperor Nicholas I at the final stage of construction of the St. Petersburg-Moscow railway approved the Regulation on the composition of the management of this railway. Hence, the current date of celebration - 6 August. In accordance with this provision, the first special military units were created, intended for the operation and protection of the railway. They were instructed to guard the stations, bridges and transportation hubs of the new road. For over 160 years, military railway workers in our country selflessly and wholeheartedly serve in the interests of their homeland.
Already in the course of the Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878, the military railway workers ensured a continuous supply of units of the Russian army along the specially built Bender-Galati railway section. Railway troops played a very important role during the First World War, during which they built about 300 kilometers of broad-gauge railways and about four thousand kilometers of narrow gauge railways. Also, railway troops restored more than 4,6 thousand kilometers of tracks.
After the October Revolution 1917, a new phase began in the life of the railway troops. The Red Army railway troops had already been established on October 5 of the year 1918, after an order had been announced by the order of the republic commander-in-chief. In the peaceful years after the end of the civil war in Russia, they were engaged in the reconstruction of existing and the construction of new railway lines. Their contribution to the end of the Great Patriotic War, victorious for the Soviet Union, was also significant. Soviet railway units and formations were able to distinguish themselves in a special way during the defense of Leningrad, Moscow, as well as in the Battle of Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk and other strategic operations in the territory of the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe. In carrying out their tasks in extremely difficult, very often combat conditions, they managed to restore 120 thousands of kilometers of railways, as well as more 15 thousands of bridges, built more 10 thousands of kilometers of new railways, disarmed and destroyed more than two million land mines and mines, contributing to the safety of rail traffic .
After the end of the Great Patriotic War, the railway troops took an active part in the restoration and reconstruction of the railways destroyed by the war and the construction of new highways. The most significant of them are the railway lines Kizel - Perm, Ust-Kamenogorsk - Zyryanovsk, Abakan - Taishet, Tyumen - Surgut, Ivdel - Ob, Trans-Mongolian Mainline, Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM). It should be remembered that every 9 kilometer of railways in the USSR was electrified with the help of military railway workers. At the same time, units of the railway troops were regularly involved in the aftermath of natural disasters, accidents and disasters, including man-made. In particular, the military railway workers worked to eliminate the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, earthquakes in Armenia, and floods in the Crimea region of the Krasnodar Territory.
In the period from 1991 to 2005, the railway troops were part of the power component of the Russian state, but were outside the size of the country's Armed Forces. So in September 1995, by the decree of the Russian president, the Federal Service of Railway Troops of the Russian Federation was formed. This management structure existed before the integration of the railway troops back into the Armed Forces, integration took place in 2005 year. 27 November 2010 by order of the Minister of Defense of the country approved the Regulations on the General Directorate of the Chief of Railway Forces.
Modern railway troops in accordance with their organizational and staffing structure include the Main Directorate of Railway Forces, as well as the Directorate of Railway Forces of military districts. The Russian railway troops include separate railway brigades of constant readiness, as well as parts of central subordination. At this stage of development of the Russian Armed Forces, the Main Directorate of the Chief of Railway Forces is part of the structure of the central apparatus of the Logistics of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (MTO Armed Forces).
In their work, military railway workers actively use special equipment: bridge cranes, tracklayers, drilling and blasting equipment. Only in 2013-2014 years did Russian railway troops receive more than 500 units of motor vehicles and 40 units of various engineering weapons. As a result, the share of modern (with a lifetime of up to 6 years) samples of automotive equipment of general purpose has been brought to 35%. On the whole, as well as all the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the railway troops are actively rearming. In accordance with the current state defense order program, up to 2020, the share of new equipment in the troops should be increased to 75%. At the same time, the number of railway troops in Russia today is about 23 thousand people, of whom about 5 thousand people are contract servicemen.
In 2013-2014, Russian railway troops carried out repairs about 140 kilometers of non-public railways every year. It can also be noted that in 2015, the grouping of railway troops began the process of constructing a section of the Zhuravka-Millerovo railway in the territory of the Voronezh and Rostov regions of Russia. They build a road bypassing Ukraine. Trains that went from Moscow to Rostov-on-Don and Sochi were forced to cross the stretch of the Luhansk region without stopping. The length of the new, under construction road will be 122,5 kilometers, the movement along the new branch can be launched in the middle of August 2017.
It is worth noting that the main goal of improving the Russian railway troops up to 2020 of the year is to give them an innovative look that will satisfy the needs of ensuring the armed protection of Russia's national interests, in accordance with the mobilization and economic capabilities of our country.
On this day, the “Military Review” team congratulates all military personnel, civilian personnel and veterans, whose life path is still connected or has previously been associated with railway troops, with their professional holiday. Adequately continue the glorious traditions of the Russian railway troops, because your work in the construction of railway lines is not only important for the army, it provides serious support for the socio-economic development of the country.
Based on materials from open sources
Information