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Smolensk Region
Roads

Transport complex of the oblast is formed by motor vehicle and railway kinds of transport. In 2005 transport enterprises of the oblast transported 11.4 mln. tons of cargo, the turnover of goods made up 16,9 billion rub. per kilometre. The largest part of the turnover -98% falls on the railway transport. The role of the transport in the Smolensk oblast is defined by its exceptional geographic location. It is crossed by:

• the shortest highways and railway roads, connecting Western Europe and central Russia;
• the most country’s important transport corridor “St.Petersburg – South of Russia”.

The major share of the oblast cargo transportation is caried out by motor vehicles. The length of the roads of common use with hard surfacing is more than 8.900 kilometres (697 km of federal and 8303 km of oblast subordination).

Of crucial economic importance is crossing the oblast strategic highway Moscow – Minsk (the length within the oblast is 302 km) and Moscow – Warsaw highway (115 km).

The shortest route from Central Russia to Western Europe goes through the Smolensk oblast. The distance from Smolensk to Berlin is 1470 km. The highways connnect the oblast with the largest ports of the Baltic, up to Riga (617 km) and St. Petersburg (706 km).

Railroad

Main railway lines, going through the oblast, connect it with all the regions, countries of the CIS, the Baltic States and Europe. There are three large railway road junctions in the oblast: in the towns of Smolensk, Vyazma and Roslavl, which have powerful modern loading-and-unloading, sorting and warehousing complexes for working over different kinds of cargo. The length of railway roads of common use, situated on the territory of the oblast, is 1180,5 km. The net of the railway roads of the oblast is rather thick and makes up 25,2 km per 1000 sq.km of the territory.

Air transport

Smolensk has landing strips and the infrastructure for receiving modern large-cargo transport planes.
The Smolensk oblast takes part in the project of organizing inter-and inner oblast airlines on the basis of small aviation planes (“Avialine” project). The projects provides for creation of the economic system, which combines transport, telecommunication and information technologies and management.

The oblast has no shipping.