He ekes out a living in the remote village of Dubinka, population 15.
Satellites show giant hole ringed by 20 'baby craters'.
He landed onto the track in minus 40C wearing only a T-shirt, shorts and slippers. He had left his compartment to go for a cigarette.
Scheme would allow epic journeys from London to the Japanese capital with major international crossing between Sakhalin and Hokkaido.
Environmentalists call for World Bank to halt funding for projects that could alter flow of rivers leading into lake with water nearing critical low.
Valery Malkov from Bratsk, Irkutsk region, was wearing only a T-shirt, shorts and slippers.
One estimate is half a million new jobs stemming from improvements to the Baikal-Amur Mainline link amid hopes of foreign investment.
Greenpeace claim authorities underestimate the scale of destruction, amid warnings of lack of resources to fight fires.