Siberian Railway Projects and the Transport Problem of the Republics of Tyva and Altai: Systems Analysis of Possible Solutions

The article analyzes large-scale projects that involve the long-term creation of a railway grid in Siberia and the Russian Far East. Meridional railway projects connecting the Republic of Tyva with the Russian railway network are considered from this perspective. The options are a detailed version of the idea of creating a Central Eurasian transport corridor that integrates Russian meridional elements of the grid not only with its latitudinal elements, but also with the Chinese railway network, by accessing the transport corridor of the Belt and Road megaproject. As for Tyva’s transport problem, the integration approach is interpreted as the need to justify options for using Russia’s resources as a whole for implementation of Tyva’s railway projects from the viewpoint of their social efficiency—the contribution to the development of Russia’s transport railway grid. Three projects for access to China’s railway network are being analyzed as options. The efficiency of the options is understood as a comparative category designed to assess the achievement of a system of Russian strategic goals via the implementation of various railway projects or combinations thereof. The evaluation procedures are supported by the software products ASPER 3 and GlobalD, developed by the Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Siberian Transport University of the Federal Agency for Railway Transport.