- Transport in Tajikistan
Most of
Tajikistan 'stransportation system was built during the Soviet era, and since that time the system has deteriorated badly because of insufficient investment and maintenance. Neither theSoviet system nor subsequently built infrastructure addressed the topographical division between the northern and southern regions of the country. Beginning in 2005, a series of major transportation projects sought to rectify this problem. The first such project, theAnzob Tunnel , was completed in 2006, providing a year-round road link fromDushanbe to northern Tajikistan. Air transport is considered unreliable. [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Tajikistan.pdf Tajikistan country profile] .Library of Congress Federal Research Division (January 2007). "This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain ."]Railways
The
railroad system totals only 480 kilometers of track, all of itbroad gauge . The system connects the main urban centers of western Tajikistan with points in neighboringUzbekistan andTurkmenistan . In 2000 a new line connected the southern cities ofQurghonteppa andKulob . Passenger transit through Tajikistan has been hindered by periodic failures of Tajik Railways to pay transit tariffs and by safety issues.Highway sTajikistan has an estimated 30,000 kilometers of roads, nearly all of which were built before 1991. One main north-south artery runs across the mountains between the northwestern city of
Khujand and Dushanbe. A second main artery runs east from Dushanbe toKhorog in theGorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province , then northeast across the mountains to the Kyrgyz city ofOsh . Because the Khujand–Dushanbe route is closed in winter, the Anzob Tunnel was built to bypass the mountain crossing and open a route connectingTashkent (Uzbekistan ) and points north withAfghanistan andPakistan to the south, via Tajikistan.China has invested approximately $720 million for infrastructure improvements in Tajikistan, including the rebuilding, widening and improvement of the road between Dushanbe and Khujand which as of August 2007 is proceeding using equipment, labor, and oversight from China. [cite web
url=http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav080107a.shtml
title= TAJIKISTAN: A CHINESE ROAD TO THE FUTURE?
publisher=EURASIANET
accessdate=2008-06-09 ]In mid-2005 construction began on a bridge across the
Panj River toAfghanistan which was funded by theUnited States and opened in August of 2007CIA World Factbook. [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ti.html Tajikistan] ] , and plans called for construction of several other bridges ultimately connecting Tajikistan to warm-water ports to the south.Pipelines
Tajikistan’s 549 kilometers of gas pipeline bring
natural gas from Uzbekistan to Dushanbe and transport gas between points in Uzbekistan across northwestern Tajikistan. Tajikistan also has 38 kilometers of oil pipeline.Ports and waterways
Tajikistan has no access to the sea and no navigable inland waterways.
Airports
In 2007 Tajikistan had 26 airports, 18 of which had paved runways and two with runways longer than 3,000 meters. The largest airport, at Dushanbe, has flights to only a few international destinations. Few flights connect Dushanbe with Tashkent, which is the nearest airport offering connections to major European destinations. The next-largest airports are at Khujand and Kulob. State-run
Tajik Air , whose safety record has been questionable, offers flights to otherCentral Asian countries, with the exception of Uzbekistan, and weekly flights toGermany andRussia .References
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