Interview with S. Haltarbanid,
railroad engineer for MTZ (Mongolian Railroad). A very experienced
engineer who during his many years working with the Russians on the
construction of the railroad has made over 30,000 km of railroad
blueprints. He is concerned that, in the end, the newly laid railroads
will become useless. Please read the reasons for his concern from the
following interview, conducted by reporter N.Ariuntuya. Where must the upgrading of Ulaanbaatar Railway start? What is the thing that most urgently needs upgrading? First
and foremost, the upgrading of Ulaanbaatar Railway needs to start with
the revamping of the current railroad. There are some works already
started prior to this. On the southern railroad, there is one section
where the life of the railroad is nearing its end. However, there are
almost none in the northern area. Every 15-20 years it is all replaced.
Reconstruction begins in the north and as it makes its way to the
south, 15-20 years later, it is all replaced again. Two or 3 years ago
they laid a several kilometer long track with no intersections. It was
to the north, from Mandal to Emeelt. The priority is to upgrade the
railroad. Second to that is the need to acquire more engines. Now they
say they’re making their own engine. But, most importantly, what kind
of engine is it and what capacity does it have?
There is also the
issue of speed. The old Russian standard tracks, especially in the
north, beyond Rashaant, following along the river, there are many sharp
curves. Some have a radius of 300 and some of 200. These curves really
influence the speed of the train. The train is forced to slow down or
else. If at all possible, it would be ideal to straighten out those
northern tracks.
To the north, beyond Emeelt, especially Tunkh and
beyond, there are sudden and sharp curves. Past that, it is generally
safer. To the south, on Khoolt Pass, there is also a section of sharp,
but much smaller curves.
There are foreign-made blueprints for
the upgrading of Ulaanbaatar Railway. As a railroad engineer, what is
your opinion of them? There are several blueprints out there
regarding the upgrading of Ulaanbaatar Railway. I know of one the
Chinese did in 2007. Their plan included the second track from Zamiin
Uud north until the border in Sukhbaatar. In their blueprint, they
included 2-3 tunnels as part of their plan to go around Bogd Mountain.
Tunnels are not applicable to our situation. Their maintainance would
be nearly impossible due to our harsh weather. If a winter snow storm
were to hit, the entire tunnel runs the danger of being covered in
snow. We would need modern state-of-the-art equipment to maintain the
tunnels. But sometimes, it’s not easy to rely on such things. If the
snow equipment is in Ulaanbaatar and the the northern part of Bogd Mt.
is covered in snow, we would lose a lot of time getting the equipment to
the tunnel. It will even limit the speed of the trains.
It is
possible to do so without making a tunnel. I have blueprints that show 3
or 4 different options. When I was working as the advisor for the
railroad administration, I looked at the Chinese blueprints and said we
could go around and not make tunnels. I even made an outline for
them. But then, everything quieted down.
Now, I have heard that
they want to make the tunnels. To make one tunnel it takes at least 2-3
years. Two tunnels is just a lie. Everyone we talk to say it would
take about 10 years to accomplish this. Even if foreigners come and
speed up the process, it will still be 2-3 years of work. There is a
better way to do it and without the added work of digging tunnels.
There is one place where it is possible to make about a 40 meter gap.
Even if we build around it, the speed will not increase anyway. If we
don’t straighten the northern region railroad, it doesn’t matter how
fast it goes through from the south, it will end up getting stuck there.
Let’s not forget, this is a standard 1940s Russian railroad. Besides
all this, the expense of digging tunnels is very high. Outsiders seem
to think that’s not important; that the speed gained is the ultimate
goal. They do not calculate the difficulties in upkeep that will occur
when the tunnels open and are used for real. They don’t know our
conditions here and so they assume they can just go straight through
like they would in their own country. I’ve seen the German, Australian,
and Chinese blueprints being made. I’ve even seen the finished
blueprints. They’re all like this.
When I visited Umnugovi to see
the Australian-made Umnugovi blueprint, they had us going over the
mountains. When asked about this, they said it was the image the
satellite took from space and so they were doing the blueprint according
to it. I asked them how is a train supposed to get down, if we went up
by car and could not get down. They said they didn’t know. I have
especially made many trips from Tavan Tolgoi to Gashuunsukhait in
connection with the new railroad. They have placed the new tracks in
places even cars cannot descend. Even the Germans have placed tracks
over the mountains. When asked why they did it that way instead of
going around the mountains, they said that the images from space showed
these to be the most level places.
Something else that has become
apparent is those involved in the automobile road industry are becoming
involved in the railroad issue. Automobile roads and railroads are 2
very different things. Last year, when I was in Umnugovi on business
related to a company survey, I saw they had started working there,
digging up soil. Only the automobile road people were there. There was
not one railroad professional there. Look at the way roads are built
in the city. You know what the roads are like in Ulaanbaatar. Over
there, they are doing a much worse job. It would be very unfortunate if
after all this, the new railroads ended up being useless. I’m very
worried about this. Secondly, the work of providing train traffic
safety begins from the foundation up. It is not like building an
automobile road where you push some dirt and stack some metal.
It is so difficult in practice and in theory.
Last
February, I wrote a letter on the subject to Prime Minister N.
Altankhuyagt. He has not responded. We can do nothing, but worry.
There is talk of the railroad work starting this May. They have not
established the standard or even decided the width of the tracks yet.
They say work will begin, but without having decided these two important
factors? I just don’t know. It is nothing but advertised work, I
think.
So, how should the new railroad work be planned? What should it start from?There
are 2 different blueprints. One is the technical stage—this means it
will be established exactly where the railroad will go. The truss is
built with 2 or 3 options to begin with. After observing the field
surveys, the most adequate one is chosen and the benefits of the
alternate options are included. After the direction of the track is
established, the work map will be made. They will make a map, take soil
samples, and do all they must do.
After the work plan is competed, the work can begin. Now, to hear people talk, it’s as though the work will begin immediately.
They
don’t even know which country’s standard they will choose yet. In the
past we have gone by Russian standards. The railroad system that is
under Ulaanbaatar Railway was built with Russian standards. Some are
claiming German standards, others Australian or American standards.
There are many different standards being talked about and, sometimes, I
hear people even mixing and combining them.
What are the things that make the standards unique? Which country’s standard would apply to our situation? I
don’t know very much about the standards. But looking at the plans, I
see many things that are not applicable here. In the Gobi, they are
looking to dig and put the railroad on a huge piece of land that spans
20-30 kms. For instance, they want to make a 20 km gap. If a sandstorm
hits that gap in the middle of the mountain, the tracks would be
completely covered with sand. How would a train pass? How much work
would it take to clear the gap? It would take a whole month! If the
trusses used in the Gobi are the same as used here, there would be no
need for ditches and most of the work will be done on piles of
rock/dirt. It is preferable the mound be over 2 meters high, preventing
snow and sand from covering the tracks.
Foreign counterparts are
interested in making the tracks as straight as possible. Making them
straight means cutting through mountain. When we suggest curving around
the mountains, they say it will slow us down. Their own trains go
140-200 km per hour and so that is what they think of when considering
this issue. But that is not the case here. At most, our trains reach a
speed of 100 kph, with 80-90 being the norm. Anything over that is
difficult to maintain.
Considering all these things, the Russian
standard seems a bit more compatible. Before, we went by the Russian
standard. Siberia and Mongolia have a similar climate and environment
and so, if we model what they are doing there, I believe that the
maintainance and utilization of our railroads will be simple. There
isn’t even anyone who really understands the standards of all those
countries. But we all know the Russian standard. We know it and so we
can use and maintain our railroad. If we were to implement the
Australian standard, there is no one, at the moment, from Ulaanbaatar
Railway who could go and work in Australia. Nor is there anyone who
has worked for the Austrailian railroads who could come and work here
according to the Australian standard. These are the difficult problems
we are up against. Just a small difference of 1 or 2 mm would create a
host of problems.
Did you mention these problems in your letter to the Prime Minister?Yes,
I did. First of all, I brought to his attention the issues with the
blueprints. Australian and Chinese blueprints are being made that are
not compatible with Mongolian weather, nature, or environment. Secondly,
several road building companies were given permission to make railroad
plans. Why is this so since roads and railroads are 2 very different
things? Why would you allow those road professionals to make railroad
blueprints? And thirdly, there are over 20 companies working from Tavan
Tolgoi to Gashuunsukhait, all of them automobile road companies. If you
see what they are doing, they are laying down layers of dirt and
leveling it all with a gritter and that’s all. They are supposed to
pile up the dirt then flatten and harden it to 25 to 30 cm. But they are
bringing a dumptruck full of white dirt and dumping it and then running
over it with a gritter. They do not use any form of roller to pack
down the dirt. Even the dirt is not compatible. They are throwing down
all sorts of things with white dirt. I spoke of these 3 issues.
So what company should build our railroad? Ulaanbaatar
Railway should. However, they usually do overhaul maintenance and
repair work. They have never laid more than 2-3 km of new tracks. They
never have an opportunity to implement projects. This lack of
opportunity may hold them back. It’s possible we could have had 1 or 2
companies by now capable of laying tracks if we had prepared them prior
to building our new railroad.
Are you saying that the road
companies could not build the railroads even with a railroad engineer
working alongside, leading them and teaching the standards and
requirements?Not one place has hired railroad engineers. I have
asked the road workers if there is anyone from the railroad working with
them and they have all said, “No.” The work they are doing does not
meet any standard. There must be some dogs at the top who think it
will work. They seem to think that if you link some metal together and
throw it down on some dirt that makes you a professional.
There is a
vocational college that claims the name of the Mongolian Railway
University. But it is inferior to the vocational college of my day.
Inevitably, they are given engineering diplomas and sent out. I made
the blueprint for the 20 km “Bold Tumur Eruu River” railroad and worked
as overseer of the project. Five engineers from the 2009 graduating
class came. When asked things even a basic railman knows, they didn’t
have a clue and simply replied that that is not something they had been
taught. When asked how they graduated, they said they simply did their
diploma thesis and graduated.
From what you’re saying, we have no other choice but to let the Russians build the railroad. It’s
not necessary to have the Russians lay the railroad. But mainly, the
Russians possess the standard that is compatible with our natural
environment and weather. Both Australia and Germany have standards that
are for countries that are usually warm with almost opposite climates
from ours. I am talking this way because I am thinking about
utilization and maintenance, not because I favor Russia.
Even today’s trainings adhere to Russian standards.
Was the “Bold Tumur Eruu River” railroad built according to Chinese standards? How well was it built? It
is a mediocre railroad. This spring it began working at its full
capacity. It was built in a way that it will eventually fall apart.
According to our standard, boulders cannot be even near the railroad.
However, the Chinese used boulders for over 2 km, from the 14th to 15th
km.
When told that this was not acceptable and to change it, they were indifferent, saying that it met the Chinese standard.
In a way, it’s making something defective and claiming it’s their standard.
It’s
difficult to say it was purely the Chinese standard. There were
numerous things they did based on their own ideas. They were
opinionated and acted on their own, not following the Chinese or the
Russian standard. When those in charge were told about it, they just
dismissed the issue and said it was done the way they instructed.
We would like to hear your opinion on the subject of making Ulaanbaatar Railway double track. I
am in favor if it increases the current capacity of the railroad. At
the moment mostly Russian freight is being transported. From the north,
we have Russian freight and Siberian wood, but from the south we don’t
have freight coming this way. Domestically, we have ore going by the
Bold Tumur Eruu River railroad. For the last two years, the railway
survived on their iron ore transport. They didn’t have any other
freight.
A second track can be merited if we begin to export coal and
ore to Russia in the north. Furthermore, a second track is warranted
if transport of freight to the north increases, based on the
consideration that it is the link that connects Asia with Europe.
Regarding the second track, very detailed calculations must be made as
to the amount of freight and from which countries it will transport
before the track is built. Will Russia and China even pay to send their
freight through Mongolia? There are alternate routes that bypass East
Siberia and Kazakhstan. The question is will they use these railroads?
Russia and China are directly connected through Dornod and Siberia. It
is a potentially complicated issue.
If it is transit, the speed
will increase. In order to do this, the entire railroad will be
changed. Everything will be upgraded, from the bridges to the lines.
The radius of the 300 radius curves will be extended. That’s the only
way to increase the speed.