The Volkhovstroy - Petrozavodsk - Belomorsk - Apatity - Murmansk railway was built before the First World War according to lightened technical standards. In the late 1920s, the Murmansk railway was used to develop the Khibiny ore deposit.
The rapid development of industrial complexes of the Murmansk region and the development of the northern regions of the country in Soviet times required the technical re-equipment of the railway line. For this, in 1970 - 1980, Lengiprotrans engineers performed work to strengthen the main line: second tracks were designed, communication facilities were improved, and station tracks were lengthened.
The works were carried out on the following sections of the route:
• Volkhovstroy - Petrozavodsk (178 km), GUIs - Vasiliev K.V., Filimonov V.F.
• Petrozavodsk - Belomorsk (166 km), GUIs - Vasiliev K.V., Filimonov V.F., chief geologists - Safronov A.V., Alekseenko V.A., head of the party - Ishanin I.F.
• Belomorsk - Apatity (259 km), GUI - Mednikov M.M.
• Apatity - Murmansk (371 km), GUI - Mednikov MM, geologist Nikonov, head of the party - Shabunina VN
