[photopress:logistics_railway_1.jpg,full,alignright]China will construct two railways linking the western Xinjiang region with the central Asian countries of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
The RMB6.2 billion ($861 million) railway, linking Korgas (in red on our illustration) on the China-Kazakhstan border with China’s inland railways, will be completed this year.
It will further extend westward to join the Sary-Ozek railway of Kazakhstan, making it the second cross-border rail link between the two countries.
The new link will ease the burden of Alataw Pass, the largest land port in northwest China, which handled five million tonnes of train-laden exports last year, up by 60% from 2006.
China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway will be next. The planned railway starts from Kashi (Kaxgar) in Xinjiang and extends through Kyrgyzstan to Uzbekistan.
After its completion in 2010, experts said the railway would provide a faster link between western China and central Asia and improve the southern passageway of the new Euro-Asia continental bridge.
Currently, the only railway linking Xinjiang with central Asia is a 460 km line between Urumqi and Alataw Pass, where it connects to Kazakhstan railways.
Source: Uzbekistan News