Transport of Siberia: problems and prospects

The analysis of the present situation in the transport complex of Siberia has shown that it fulfils its principal task which is to maintain the integrity of the social and economic space. The priorities in transport development are set and explained. Within 10-15 years ahead the transport system of the macro region will be not enough to meet the real demand of the national economy, but in order to create the motivation for accelerated development of Siberia and the Far East it must – and this is one of strategic tasks – outstrip this demand. A distinctive feature in the development of transport systems in the east of the country is that the transport network has crossroads of latitudinal and meridian mains, in the nodes of which large multi-modal transport-logistical centres are created. In the discussion of the linkage between economy and transport it is argued that in the development of the eastern areas of Russia the economic aspect of the strategy is dominant, while the intercontinental transit and increased transport openness is the evidence that the Russian economy is becoming part of the world economy and promotes access to it. It will be emphasized that it is just economic development that requires to develop the transport. The economic probability to create the basic transport network of the Asian Russia in this century is estimated.