| Abstract: | Two basic alternative transport systems are analyzed for the new oil-producing district along the Middle Ob'valley in West Siberia. One is the construction of a railroad parallel to the Ob' River; the other is the use of the waterway itself. Comparative cost analysis suggests that the railroad would be economical only for very large traffic volumes, not expectable in the foreseeable future. By 1980–1985, expected freight flows may justify construction of the western section of the proposed railroad in the oil district itself. Instead of an eastward extension, the author advocates a continuation toward the rich gas and possibly oil prospects in the northern part of the West Siberian plain, and ultimately to Noril'sk. The paper was published before the Soviet Union announced, in early 1970, that the accelerated development of the oil district required construction of the western section of the Ob'valley railroad in the 1970s. |
