New rail developments in Kyrgyzstan are following each other up in rapid succession. First, there was the China – Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan (CKU) line. Then, the Transeurasia line, followed by the Batken – Kokand line. Now, a Chinese government official is calling for yet another connection into the Central Asian country.
As long as it took to get started with the CKU line, so quickly are new plans being introduced right now. The latest idea is a rail connection between the Chinese city Aksu into Kyrgyzstan, along the Issyk-Kul lake. Chinese governor Adili Ali made that proposal at a meeting with Kyrgyz vice prime minister Bakyt Torobayev. The envisioned railway is supposed to follow the route Aksu – Bedel – Balykchi.
Bedel was mentioned earlier as a justification for the Transeurasia line. It is a mountain pass on the border between China and Kyrgyzstan. The two countries plan to open a road border crossing there, but it seems that rail may join the future road through the Bedel pass.
Were all these plans come to fruition, Kyrgyzstan could become a much bigger player on the Central Asian rail scene than it is now. There are, however, questions about what these railways can really accomplish. For one, they are bound to be expensive: Kyrgyzstan is a very mountainous country, which raises construction costs and limits throughput capacity with higher traction requirements.
Happy Kyrgyz
At the same time, neighbouring Kazakhstan has an established railway network in a much more forgiving landscape. Kyrgyz rail is unlikely to be competitive for China – Europe traffic at the very least. On the other hand, Kyrgyzstan is enthusiastic despite the high costs. The landlocked country hopes to achieve better connectivity with the outside world, which could boost its trade.