Trans-Mongolian Railway

The Trans-Mongolian Railway connects Ulan Ude, on the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia, with the Chinese city of Jining, by way of Ulan Bator in Mongolia.

Other important stops in Mongolia are Sükhbaatar, Darkhan, Choir, Sainshand, and Zamyn-Üüd, and in China Erenhot (border crossing and gauge-changing station). The line was built between 1949 and 1961. In most of Mongolia it is single-track and in China dual-track. The gauge is 1520 mm in Russia and Mongolia, and 1435 mm in China. There are important branches leading to Erdenet and Baganuur.

History

Railway development came late to Mongolia. Construction of the Trans-Mongolian line began in 1947, reaching Ulan Bator from the north in 1950 and the Chinese border in 1955. Before that the only railways in Mongolia had been a 43-km line (opened in 1938) connecting the coal mines at Nalaikh to the capital and a Soviet-built 236-km freight-only branch (completed in 1939) from Borzya on the Trans-Siberian Railway to Bayantümen, Dornod near Choibalsan in north-eastern Mongolia. [ [http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-8980.html Mongolia - Tourism ] ]

Operation

The Mongolian Railway company "Mongolyn Tömör Zam" carries 80% of all freight and 30% of all passenger transport within Mongolia. In the aftermath of the 1990 Democratic revolution freight traffic was reduced by about half, but by 2005 had almost returned to previous levels. Passenger numbers had already reached the old levels again by 2001, with 4.1 million passengers.

To maximize reliability most trains are headed by two locomotives, since any breakdowns in rail communication would cause serious economic disruption in a sparsely populated country where huge distances have to be covered.

While Mongolian trains run on the Russian gauge (1520 mm), China uses the standard gauge (1435 mm). For this reason through carriages between the two countries must have their wheels changed at the border. Each carriage has to be lifted in turn to have its bogies changed and the whole operation, combined with passport and customs control, can take several hours.

Gallery

External links

* [http://www.mtz.mn/ Mongolian Railway company - official site] mn icon

References

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