Railway infrastructure and international railway transport connectivity are important contents of the “facility connectivity” category in the construction of the “Belt and Road Initiative”, which includes international railway facility connectivity and international multimodal transport.
Under the framework of the “Belt and Road Initiative”, there are three main railway trunk lines connecting the Eurasian continent: the north, the middle and the south, which are the railway trunk network of Russia, the Central Asian railway trunk line, part of the trunk line of the Pan-Asian Railway and the connection of the “Europe-Caucasus-Asia Transport Corridor” railway.
The interconnection of Eurasian railways under the vision of the “Belt and Road Initiative” has further promoted the economic and trade exchanges between China and Eurasian countries, accelerated the construction of Eurasian railway integration, and promoted the economic development of the areas along the “Silk Road Economic Belt”, and built economic ties and cultural bridges with countries and regions along the route.
Eurasian railways mainly include Russia’s railway network and Central Asian railway trunk lines.
The railway trunk lines of the “Silk Road Economic Belt” in the construction of the “Belt and Road Initiative” are mainly connected to the Lanxin Line and Longhai Line in China, and are mainly connected to the Pan-European Railway through the railway trunk lines of Kazakhstan abroad.
The Central Asian railway trunk lines mainly include:
1. Kazakhstan’s railway trunk lines
Kazakhstan is located at the junction of the Eurasian continent and is a hub that connects the Eurasian continent and the nearby Caspian Sea. There are four transit railway trunk lines in Kazakhstan: the Asian Continental Bridge (China-Kazakhstan-Turkey), the Eurasian Continental Bridge (China-Kazakhstan-Russia-other European countries), the Central Asian Railway and the Western Railway.
The Western Railway can be used for water transport (leading to the Aktau seaport, which can meet the transportation needs of Kazakhstan’s largest oil processing base).
2. Central Asian trains (Lianyungang-Central Asian five countries)
The Central Asian trains are fast container direct trains from China or through China to the five Central Asian countries and West Asia, South Asia and other countries. At present, the train formation is not less than 50 cars.
Currently, there are five Central Asia train ports, namely Alashankou and Horgos ports connecting Central Asia and West Asia, Erlianhot port connecting Mongolia, and Shanyao and Pingxiang ports connecting South Asia. The goods on the Central Asia trains are mainly divided into two categories: one is China’s import and export goods, and the other is transit goods passing through Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and other places through China.
The main routes of the Central Asia trains are as follows:
(1) Central Asia train (Lianyungang-Tashkent). It starts from Lianyungang Port Station, exits from Horgos, passes through Kazakhstan, and arrives at three stations including Tashkent in Uzbekistan. The running time is about 7 days.
(2) Central Asia train (Xi’an-Almaty). It starts from Xi’an Xinzhu Station, exits from Alashankou, and arrives at Almaty Station in Kazakhstan. The running time is about 8 days.
3. Pan-Asian Railway
Currently, it takes 45 to 62 days for Chinese goods to be transported to the UK, France, Germany and other European countries via the “Southern Line” and “Northern Line” corridors (including by sea), but it only takes 12 to 15 days to be transported to Europe via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway, which is about 1/4 of the original time.