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Abstract
ABSTRACTTrain rhythms are dictated by regulations as well as the collaboration of human and non-human actants. When a railroad is the prime form of ground transportation and the mono-industry forming force in the cities along the railroad, the rhythms of trains have power over the everyday life of people who rely on them as passengers, workforce and traders. This is the case of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) in Siberia. The paper tackles the interaction of natural, technical, bureaucratic and economic rhythms and asks where power structures are located. Material and social networks of the involved actants are shaped by constraints and forces: Moscow driven bureaucracy, technological needs and natural conditions as well as the individual or collective needs and aspirations of social beings are entangled within the power structures that are intrinsic to railroad operations. This article is based on ethnographic field work in Siberia along the BAM. In it we argue that the diversity of rhythms introduced by the train company dominates other work and life rhythms that vary across gender, age, class and family status.
Highlights
The Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) is an example of socially powerful infrastructure that serves as a ‘city-forming’ and ‘region-forming’ enterprise, dominating many fields of social, economic and political life of local communities
We argue that the diversity of rhythms introduced by the train operation dominate other work rhythms along the BAM and vary depending on the gender, age, class, family status and travel and work experience of different individuals
Beyond the immediate effects of the railroad on travel and work, we find it important to examine the power of railroad rhythms in the context of the existing political regime
Summary
The Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) is an example of socially powerful infrastructure that serves as a ‘city-forming’ and ‘region-forming’ enterprise, dominating many fields of social, economic and political life of local communities. We observe the effects of the immediate relations of different rhythms of the passengers and train attendants in long-distance trains. The final section explores how the rhythms of the long-distance passenger trains affect the business activities of the BAM cities which include rhythms of entrepreneurs, station kiosks, vendors and bus and taxi drivers.
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