Russian Railways winding up repairs at Moscow-St Pete line.

KHMELYOVKA, Novgorod region, November 29 (Itar-Tass) - Railway repair
teams are finalizing restoration of a section of the Moscow-St Petersburg
railway where a high-speed train crashed Friday night, leaving about 30
people dead and more than 90 others, injured.
An Itar-Tass reporter said in a dispatch from the site of the accident
electricians and section men were inspecting the geometry of the newly
laid track, the technical parameters of the restored rail embankment, the
overhead electric wiring system, the signal networks, and automated
equipment at around midnight Saturday.
When all the works on the up line leading from Moscow towards St
Petersburg are over, the traffic of passenger and cargo trains that have
to pass this section by the down line in both directions at the moment
will resume in full.
Two coaches of the ill-fated Nevsky Express are lying in the side
ditch with heaps of scrap metal, broken passenger seats, linen, window
drapes soiled with dirt, and other articles of the coach interior all
around them.
Locomotive drivers give long honks as they approach the place to pay
tribute to the people who died in the disaster. On both sides of the line,
special yellow disks have been placed 50 meters away from the spot of the
accident. They warn the engine crews that special precautions are required
at that section of the route and that the speed limit there is 40
kilometers per hour.
The tragedy occurred at the section of the railway between the
stations Alyoshinka and Uglovka at 22:00 hours Moscow Standard Time Friday.
An explosion of an improvised device sent several coaches of the
Nevsky Express train rolling down the embankment.
Experts say the power of the device was equivalent of 7 kg of TNT.
In the meantime, Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov is
expected to chair a new meeting of the socialized governmental commission
supervising the efforts to eliminate the aftermath of the disaster.
It is due to begin at noon sharp and will be held in the form an
intercom conference, Zubkov told reporters Saturday night.
Special attention will be given to the problem of medical assistance
to the surviving victims of the crash and to the allocation of material
aid to them.
Also, the commission will discuss the finalization of the lists of
those who died and who received injuries in the accident.
Viktor Zubkov gave assurances the commission will continue working
until all the current problems are resolved and there is full clarity on
the measures that should be taken in the future.
-0-kle