Magistral (Russian: Магистраль) is a 1983 Soviet railroad drama film based on the book "Zharkie peregony" by Vladimir Barabashov and directed by Viktor Tregubovich.[1][2][3]
Set in the 1980s Soviet Union, the film tells about a disastrous collision on the Siberian railway called "Magistral" and the chaotic circumstances pertinent to that accident. "Magistral" railway has many big and small problems, outdated infrastructure, inadequate management and poor resources under the Soviet bureaucracy. The railroad's throughput is lower than necessary, so one hasty decision sends a cargo train on a collision course with a passenger train. At the same time the alarm system fails and communication channels malfunction, so the top managers remain oblivious to the emerging disaster. Eventually the cargo train collides head on with passenger train causing much damage and human suffering. Soviet administration chairman summons the railroad management to a brainstorm meeting that concludes that the disaster was caused by systemic degradation of the railroad. [4]
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