OREANDA-NEWS. On November 21, 2007 Russian Railways has accepted a plan to develop the infrastructure on the approaches to the ports of the Azov-Black Sea Basin to run until 2015 and for high-speed passenger traffic between Central and South Russia, reported the press-centre of Russian Railways.

Over the long term, North-Caucasus Railways, which is the main link between Russia’s Black Sea coast and the rest of the country, will become more important going forward as the capacity of the ports in the Azov-Black Sea Basin increases and demand for transport in the run-up to the Winter Olympic Games being held in Sochi in 2014 rises. The volumes of rail shipments via the ports of the Azov-Black Sea Basin are expected to nearly treble by 2015 compared to 2006.

It is planned to develop the port of Novorossisk and build a new port at Taman, as well as to modernise existing sections and increase speeds to 200 kph and build new lines circumventing the Ukraine.