Moreover, most of the coal lies close to the surface, eliminating the need for expensive and potentially dangerous underground mines. Baltic Construction Firm, the St. Petersburg-based contractor responsible for the project, broke ground in May 2000. An additional 10,000 may be hired before the project is completed. The endeavor has been a boon to residents of Ulak and the nearby village of Gorny, both located in the Amur Region which is adjacent to Yakutia. Once perestroika struck, the settlements became little more than ghost towns.
Today there are more jobs, a little more money, and some hope for the future.
Once a crane operator at the state-run forestry firm, he now handles explosives for the new rail project. Others rumor that this branch line might be extended to the Sea of Okhotsk and will shuttle passengers to the Northern Pacific. In that case, the tiny Ulak station could become a railway hub on the scale of Tynda. Work to expand the tiny Gorny airstrip is already underway. Locals joke that soon they'll be able to commute to Moscow.