Stalin's "Railroad of Death" to be rebuilt

[Jonathan]

The Salekhard-Nadym section of Stalin's "Railroad of Death" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salekha...Igarka_Railway), which sits by the Arctic circle, is being rebuilt after years of speculation, having been dismantled to recycle the steel rails during the 90's. The project is fascinating and will provide a new transport corridor for the transport of oil and materials from and to the rich fields in the area. The state corporation organising the project "Industrial Urals - Polar Urals", has announced the quantity of building materials to be used in the construction of the line (http://www.cupp.ru/press_release_46.html) - 1,054,666m3, and it seemed to me that the amount of ballast and gravel was very low (the section of line is 354.6km long), however I am no expert, and would be very interested to know how much ballast and gravel one would expect to use per kilometer on a regular two track line (here I imagine more will be need to stop subsidence into the boggy land during the summer thaw period). All input appreciated!