What spurs the international effort to bridge Afghanistan via rail?

Countries in Afghanistan’s vicinity have grown an interest in developing its rail infrastructure. More and more projects are being launched, or are at the very least being considered, that would elevate the country to an international “rail bridge” to the Indian Ocean. What are these projects, and what motivates these countries? As the desert dust…

What spurs the international effort to bridge Afghanistan via rail?

Countries in Afghanistan’s vicinity have grown an interest in developing its rail infrastructure. More and more projects are being launched, or are at the very least being considered, that would elevate the country to an international “rail bridge” to the Indian Ocean. What are these projects, and what motivates these countries? As the desert dust…

Russia approves 3,7 trillion ruble Far East rail modernisation

Russia has approved further modernisation works of railway infrastructure in its Far Eastern region. On the 50-year anniversary of the so-called Baikal-Amur line (BAM), the country confirmed that it will be spending 3,7 trillion rubles to boost throughput capacity to 270 million tonnes by 2032. The approved investments are part of the third stage of…

The Middle Corridor remains too expensive as an alternative China-Europe route

The Middle Corridor, a multimodal China-Europe freight route through Central Asia, has garnered international interest as a potential alternative to transporting freight through Russia. Illustratively, the EU has allocated 10 billion euros for its development. The corridor remains too expensive to become a route of preference, explains Roland Verbraak, general manager of BTTMultimodalGroup. BTT, a…

Kazakhstan, China and Russia building transport hub near Moscow

Kazakhstan, China and Russia have started building a joint transport hub. The hub will be built at the Selyatino station in Russia’s Moscow region. The hub is supposed to improve transport links between Russia and the Kazakh-Chinese terminal in Xi’an, China. Earlier this year, the Russian firm Slavtrans signed a memorandum of understanding with Kazakh…