Documentary: People of the BAM railway in Russia

This 24-minute documentary explores the Baikal-Amur Mainline, a railway line which stretches more than four thousand kilometers through Russia, and introduces the people who live in the area.

This is one of the world's longest railway lines, and construction work on it lasted for almost a hundred years. Even the most harsh weather conditions did not stop progress on the line. Traversing Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East, the 4,324 km (2,687 mi) long BAM runs about 610 to 770 km (380 to 480 miles) north of, and parallel to, the Trans-Siberian railway. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, funding was lost. However many people who had been involved in the construction of the railway line decided to stay in the towns and villages built to house workers. Many have started their own businesses, including a hairdresser, who travels from town to town on the railway. Her services are so popular, and her number of clients so large, a big city salon would be very envious. In RT's video we meet her clients and other residents along the railway line.