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this has nothing to do with LaRouche, especially not that would justify inclusion in lead or his own section
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In 1990 China linked its rail system to the Trans-Siberian via Kazakhstan, allowing freight from China to travel by rail to Europe. China calls its uninterrupted rail link between the Chinese port city of [[Lianyungang]] and Kazakhstan the New Eurasian Land Bridge or Second Eurasian Continental Bridge. In addition to Kazakhstan, the railways connect with other countries in Central Asia, including [[Iran]], but do not connect all the way to Europe through south Asia.
In 1990 China linked its rail system to the Trans-Siberian via Kazakhstan, allowing freight from China to travel by rail to Europe. China calls its uninterrupted rail link between the Chinese port city of [[Lianyungang]] and Kazakhstan the New Eurasian Land Bridge or Second Eurasian Continental Bridge. In addition to Kazakhstan, the railways connect with other countries in Central Asia, including [[Iran]], but do not connect all the way to Europe through south Asia.


Proposed expansion of the Eurasian Land Bridge includes construction of a railway across Kazakhstan that is the same gauge as Chinese railways, rail links to [[India]], [[Burma]], [[Thailand]], and [[Malaysia]], and construction of a rail tunnel or bridge across the [[Bering Strait]] to connect the Trans-Siberian to the [[North America]]n rail system. The [[LaRouche movement]] has advocated further development of the Eurasian Land Bridge. The [[United Nations]] has proposed further expansion as well, including the [[Trans-Asian Railway]] project.
Proposed expansion of the Eurasian Land Bridge includes construction of a railway across Kazakhstan that is the same gauge as Chinese railways, rail links to [[India]], [[Burma]], [[Thailand]], and [[Malaysia]], and construction of a rail tunnel or bridge across the [[Bering Strait]] to connect the Trans-Siberian to the [[North America]]n rail system. The [[United Nations]] has proposed further expansion, including the [[Trans-Asian Railway]] project.


==Background==
==Background==
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The project, as envisioned, would connect the Trans-Siberian via [[Yakutsk]] in Russia with the North American rail system at [[Fort Nelson, British Columbia]], [[Canada]], a distance of {{convert|3700|mi|km|-1}}. A significant hurdle for the project is that the nearest major road to the Russian end of the tunnel is {{convert|1000|mi|km|-1}} away. In addition, Alaska has no direct rail link to either Canada or the continental United States.<ref>Blomfield; Hearst.</ref>
The project, as envisioned, would connect the Trans-Siberian via [[Yakutsk]] in Russia with the North American rail system at [[Fort Nelson, British Columbia]], [[Canada]], a distance of {{convert|3700|mi|km|-1}}. A significant hurdle for the project is that the nearest major road to the Russian end of the tunnel is {{convert|1000|mi|km|-1}} away. In addition, Alaska has no direct rail link to either Canada or the continental United States.<ref>Blomfield; Hearst.</ref>


===LaRouche movement and the United Nations===
===United Nations===
⚫
The [[United Nations Development Programme]] has advocated greater regional integration along the Eurasian Land Bridge, including development of rail links between the countries of south and southeast Asia and central Asia, called the [[Trans-Asian Railway]] project.<ref>Xinhua, "China northwest city to host UN meet on Eurasia continental bridge 29 Jun-4 Jul"; Islam.</ref> Chinese leaders have called for the establishment of [[free trade zone]]s at both ends of the Eurasian Land Bridge to facilitate development.<ref>Xinhua, "China: Congress deputies propose free trade zones along continental bridge".</ref> Said Khalid Malik, United Nations [[Resident Coordinator]] in China, "If this comes true, it will enable the continental bridge to play its due role in enhancing co-operation between Asia and Europe, and promoting world peace and development."<ref>Fu.</ref>
Further development of the Eurasian Land Bridge, including a rail link across the Bering Strait, is a significant element in the [[LaRouche movement]]'s political platform. Along with further construction of associated rail links, LaRouche and his supporters call for the development of industrial and agricultural zones which would support and benefit from expansion of the Eurasian Land Bridge infrastructure.<ref>Qazwini; Sciacca; The Virginian-Pilot.</ref>

⚫
Separately, the [[United Nations Development Programme]] has also advocated greater regional integration along the Eurasian Land Bridge, including development of rail links between the countries of south and southeast Asia and central Asia, called the [[Trans-Asian Railway]] project.<ref>Xinhua, "China northwest city to host UN meet on Eurasia continental bridge 29 Jun-4 Jul"; Islam.</ref> Chinese leaders have called for the establishment of [[free trade zone]]s at both ends of the Eurasian Land Bridge to facilitate development.<ref>Xinhua, "China: Congress deputies propose free trade zones along continental bridge".</ref> Said Khalid Malik, United Nations [[Resident Coordinator]] in China, "If this comes true, it will enable the continental bridge to play its due role in enhancing co-operation between Asia and Europe, and promoting world peace and development."<ref>Fu.</ref>


==Notes==
==Notes==

Revision as of 05:37, 5 December 2009

Railroad bridge on the Trans-Siberian across the Kama River near Perm.

The Eurasian Land Bridge, sometimes called the New Silk Road, is a term used to describe the rail transport route for moving freight and/or passengers overland from Pacific seaports in eastern Russia and mainland China to seaports in Europe. The route, a transcontinental railroad and rail land bridge, comprises the Trans-Siberian Railway, which runs through Russia and is sometimes called the Northern East-West Corridor, and the New Eurasian Land Bridge or Second Eurasian Continental Bridge, running through China and Kazakhstan. As of November 2007, about 1% of the $600 billion in goods shipped from Asia to Europe each year were delivered by inland transport routes.[1]

Completed in 1916, the Trans-Siberian connects Moscow with Russian Pacific seaports such as Vladivostok. From the 1960s until the early 1990s the railroad served as the primary land bridge between Asia and Europe, until several issues caused the use of the railway for transcontinental freight to dwindle. One issue is the railways of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) use a wider rail gauge than most of the rest of Europe and China. Recently, however, the Trans-Siberian has regained ground as a viable land route between the two continents.

In 1990 China linked its rail system to the Trans-Siberian via Kazakhstan, allowing freight from China to travel by rail to Europe. China calls its uninterrupted rail link between the Chinese port city of Lianyungang and Kazakhstan the New Eurasian Land Bridge or Second Eurasian Continental Bridge. In addition to Kazakhstan, the railways connect with other countries in Central Asia, including Iran, but do not connect all the way to Europe through south Asia.

Proposed expansion of the Eurasian Land Bridge includes construction of a railway across Kazakhstan that is the same gauge as Chinese railways, rail links to India, Burma, Thailand, and Malaysia, and construction of a rail tunnel or bridge across the Bering Strait to connect the Trans-Siberian to the North American rail system. The United Nations has proposed further expansion, including the Trans-Asian Railway project.

Background

Commercial traffic between Europe and Asia took place along the Silk Road from at least the 2nd millennium BCE. The Silk Road was not a specific thoroughfare, but a general route used by traders to travel, much of it by land, between the two continents by way of central Asia. The route was used to exchange goods, ideas, and people primarily between China and India and the Mediterranean.[2]

Over the centuries, traffic along the silk road waxed and waned depending on various factors, including the economic and political situations of civilizations through which the route passed. Traffic along the route greatly diminished with the fall of Constantinople in the 15th century and development of the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope in the 16th Century. By the 18th century, European influence on trade and new national boundries severely restricted the movement of traders along land routes between Europe and China, and overland trade between East Asia and Europe virtually disappeared.[3]

Trans-Siberian Railway

Map of the Trans-Siberian (red) and Baikal-Amur (green) Railways

The Trans-Siberian Railway and its various associated branches and supporting lines, completed in 1916, established the first rail connection between Europe and Asia, from Moscow to Vladivostok. The line, at 9,200 kilometres (5,720 mi), is the longest rail line in the world.[4]

Currently, the Trans-Siberian connects the Russian Pacific ports of Vladivostok, and Nakhodka with Moscow. Rail links at Moscow allow passengers and freight to connect to train lines running further west into Europe. By making further transfers, passengers and freight can eventually reach western European seaports.[5] Side branches connect directly with Northeastern China (e.g. via Manchouli, and the former Chinese Eastern Railway - which original served as the main, shorter, route to Vladivostok), with North Korea (via Northeastern China, or directly from Russia's Ussuriysk), and with Beijing via Mongolia. A more northerly east-west route across Siberia, known as the Baykal-Amur Mainline was completed in the 1980s. It terminates at the Pacific ports of Vanino and Sovetskaya Gavan.

Former countries of the USSR use a track gauge of 1,520 millimetres (60 in). The international standard rail gauge used in most of Europe and China is 1,435 millimetres (56.5 in). As a result, trains cannot run from China or European countries into or out of the former USSR without changing bogies. Changing the bogies on a rail car takes 5-6 hours and special, heavy equipment. In many cases, freight is transshipped from one train to another instead of changing the bogies. In the case of liquids, frozen goods, and hazardous materials, however, the bogies are usually changed.[6]

While the Transsiberian has always been used by the Czarist, Soviet, and modern Russian government to project political power into their territories in Asia, in the 1960s it was opened by the USSR as an international trade route connecting the western Pacific with Europe. Problems with shipping freight along the Trans-Siberian, however, including backlogs at the Russian Pacific ports caused by dilapidated rail infrastructures, theft, damaged freight, late trains, inflated freight fees, uncertain scheduling for return of containers, and geopolitical tension reduced the use of the route for international trade to almost zero by the 1990s.[7]

According to Hofstra University, there is presently renewed interest in using the Trans-Siberian as a route across Asia to Europe. An advantage of the Trans-Siberian route over the China-Central Asian rail route (detailed below) is that trains must change bogies only once, at the borders of the former USSR.[8] Also, the Trans-Siberian links directly to railroads which ultimately connect, via Finland and Sweden, to the year-round ice-free port of Narvik in Norway. At Narvik, freight can be transshipped to ships to cross the Atlantic to North America. Total transit time between Vladivostok and New York City using this route is reportedly 10 days. Rail links from Russia also connect to Rotterdam, but may encounter greater congestion along this route with resulting delays. The trade route between the east coast of North America and eastern Russia using the Trans-Siberian is often called the Northern East West Freight Corridor.[9]

In an effort to attract use of the Trans-Siberian to transport goods from Japan, China, and Korea to Europe, in the mid-1990s Russia lowered tariffs on freight using the railway. As a result, freight volume over the rail line doubled in 1999 and 2000.[10]

China and the land bridge

Rail links between China and Russia

Terminus of the Lanxin railway at Alataw Pass, where the Chinese rail system connects with that of Kazakhstan at Dostyk.

While the USSR had long been connected with China via the rail links in Northeastern China and Mongolia, since the 1950s plans existed to connect the two countries' rail networks at the Kazakhstan/Xinjiang border. The Soviets completed their line from Aktogay (a station on the Turksib in eastern Kazakhstan) to their border station Druzhba (now Dostyk), but the construction on the Chinese side stopped because of the Sino-Soviet split of the 1960s. In 1985 construction commenced on the Beijiang Railway to link the Chinese and Russian rail networks via Kazakhstan. The section between Ürümqi and Alashankou was completed on September 16, 1990, linking the train lines of the two countries at Dostyk. In July 1991 the first freight train traveled along the line from China to Kazakhstan's then-capital of Almaty.[11] Because Kazakhstan was once a member of the USSR, its train system connects with and carries the same rail gauge as the Russian rail system, as well as the other central Asian republics of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.[12]

From Kazakhstan, four major north-south railways connect with the Russian rail system. Two connect with the Trans-Siberian railway (the Turksib and the Shu-Astana-Petropavl meridional line) while the other two (the Trans-Aral Railway, and the connection via Atyrau and Astrakhan Oblast) go directly to European Russia. These links to the Russian rail system are sometimes called the Eurasian Railway.[13]

In January 2008 China and Germany inaugurated a long distance freight train service between Beijing and Hamburg. Traveling a total of 10,000 kilometres (6,210 mi), the train uses the China Railways, Inner Mongolia line to connect to Ulan Bator, where it then continues north to the Trans-Siberian. After reaching the end of the Trans-Siberian at Moscow, the train continues to Germany via rail links in Belarus and Poland. Total transit time is 15 days, as compared with the 30 days average it would take for the freight to make the same journey by ship. The first train, carrying a mixed load of clothes, ceramics, and electronics, traveled on tracks operated by six different railways.[14] Hartmut Mehdorn, chairman of Deutsche Bahn, stated that regularly scheduled China-Germany freight services should be in operation by 2010.[15]

See also: Trans-Eurasia Logistics

New Eurasian Land Bridge

The New Eurasian Land Bridge, also called the New Eurasian Continental Bridge, is the name given to China's rail link with central Asia. The route includes China's east-west railways which, in addition to the Beijiang Line, are the Longhai Railway and the Lanxin railway. Together, the railways create an uninterrupted rail link between the port city of Lianyungang and Kazakhstan. In 1995 the Chinese and Kazakhstan governments signed an agreement which allows the latter to use Lianyungang as its primary seaport for exports and imports.[16] China intends for Lianyungang to serve as the designated starting point for the New Eurasian Land Bridge.[17]

From Almaty in Kazakhstan, the railway extends to Tashkent and Samarkand, Uzbekistan and then to Tejen, Turkmenistan. From Tejen, another line continues to Ashgabat, the capital of Turkenistan. After Ashgabat, the line ends at Türkmenbaşy, Turkmenistan, a port on the Caspian Sea.[18]

In 1996 a branch railway from Tejen was constructed across the border with Iran (at Serakhs) and linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways. The link potentially enables rail freight from China to reach ports on the Persian Gulf, and via other train lines, to reach into the Caucasus and Turkey.[19] The central Asian route, however, does not extend all the way into Europe. There is no rail link yet across the Bosphorus though one is being built in 2009.[20] Iran rail lines use 1435 gauge, requiring freight cars transiting from China into Iran to change wheel gauges twice.[18] The train ferry across Lake Van is also a capacity restriction.

Variable Gauge Axles would achieve significant time savings in comparison to bogie exchange. Their implementation however would involve a much higher capital cost, requiring either retrofitting or replacement of existing rolling stock.[21]

Chinese state media claims that the New Eurasian Land/Continental Bridge extends from Lianyungang to Rotterdam, a distance of 11,870 kilometres (7,380 mi). The exact route used to connect the two cities, whether through Mongolia or Kazakhstan, however, is unclear.[22]

Proposed development

Expansion projects

China's rail system. The link with Kazakhstan is at the upper left corner of the map.

On March 10, 2004 Kazakhstan Railway Co., Ltd announced that it was looking for investors to fund the construction of a railway stretching 3,083 kilometres (1,920 mi) from China across Kazakhstan that would be the same gauge as Chinese railways. Thus, the railway would allow trains from China to cross Kazakhstan without having to change bogies. The reported construction cost of the new railway was $3.5 billion. Chinese media reported that the railway would complete the link between China and Europe via central Asia, but it is unclear where the actual link to Europe would be. Also unclear is whether construction has yet to begin on the project.[23]

The governments of India and Myanmar have proposed building, with China's cooperation, a link to the Eurasian Land Bridge that would start in India or Myanmar and connect to China's rail system in Yunnan. The route would allow freight from India and Myanmar to travel overland to Europe. The link would also give rail access for China to the Indian Ocean. One proposed starting point for the route is Kyaukpyu. The governments of Thailand and Malaysia are also studying the feasibility of establishing rail links with China.[24]

Both Russia and China are seeking to establish a permanent rail link with South Korea by way of North Korea to allow South Korean goods to be shipped to Europe via the Eurasian Land Bridge. According to Choi Yeon-Hye, a professor of marketing and management at the Korea National Railway College, a rail connection from Busan to Rotterdam would cut shipping time from 26 to 16 days and save $800 per container of freight.[25]

Bering Strait link

Further information: Bering Strait crossing
Possible route of a bridge or tunnel across the Bering Strait.

In April 2007 the Russian government announced that it was considering building a rail tunnel under the Bering Strait between Chukotka and Alaska. The tunnel, as projected, would be 60 miles (100 km) long and would include oil and gas pipelines, fiber optic cables, and power lines.[26] The tunnel project was estimated to cost $65 billion and take 15-20 years to build. In addition to the Russian government, sponsors of the project apparently include Transneft and RAO United Energy Systems.[27] Others, including Sun Myung Moon, have proposed building a bridge across the strait.[28]

The project, as envisioned, would connect the Trans-Siberian via Yakutsk in Russia with the North American rail system at Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada, a distance of 3,700 miles (5,950 km). A significant hurdle for the project is that the nearest major road to the Russian end of the tunnel is 1,000 miles (1,610 km) away. In addition, Alaska has no direct rail link to either Canada or the continental United States.[29]

United Nations

The United Nations Development Programme has advocated greater regional integration along the Eurasian Land Bridge, including development of rail links between the countries of south and southeast Asia and central Asia, called the Trans-Asian Railway project.[30] Chinese leaders have called for the establishment of free trade zones at both ends of the Eurasian Land Bridge to facilitate development.[31] Said Khalid Malik, United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, "If this comes true, it will enable the continental bridge to play its due role in enhancing co-operation between Asia and Europe, and promoting world peace and development."[32]

Notes

  1. ^ Berk.
  2. ^ Christian; Ōtsuka, p. 42.
  3. ^ Christian; Ōtsuka, p. 42.
  4. ^ Rodrigue; Wehrfritz.
  5. ^ Ōtsuka, pp. 48–49.
  6. ^ China Daily; Ōtsuka, p. 48; Rodrigue.
  7. ^ Rodrigue, Ōtsuka, p. 49; Wehrfritz.
  8. ^ Ōtsuka, p. 49.
  9. ^ Rodrigue.
  10. ^ Wehrfritz.
  11. ^ Ōtsuka, pp. 42–43.
  12. ^ Ōtsuka, pp. 42–43, 48.
  13. ^ Ōtsuka, pp. 45–46.
  14. ^ Rodrigue; International Railway Journal; Underhill.
  15. ^ International Railway Journal.
  16. ^ China Daily, Ōtsuka, pp. 42–43.
  17. ^ Ren.
  18. ^ a b Ōtsuka, p. 44.
  19. ^ Ōtsuka, pp. 42, 44; Mirak-Weissbach.
  20. ^ Ōtsuka, pp. 42, 44.
  21. ^ United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, "Development of the Trans-Asian Railway", pp. 56-58
  22. ^ Xinhua, "NW China mulls 'New Silk Road' exhibition park".
  23. ^ China Daily.
  24. ^ Wehrfritz; The Statesman; Xinhua, "Experts propose developing SW corridor of third Asia-Europe land-bridge".
  25. ^ Wehrfritz; Funabashi.
  26. ^ Blomfield.
  27. ^ Hearst; Associated Press, "Bering Strait tunnel proposed".
  28. ^ Associated Press, "Bering Strait tunnel proposed"; Washington Times.
  29. ^ Blomfield; Hearst.
  30. ^ Xinhua, "China northwest city to host UN meet on Eurasia continental bridge 29 Jun-4 Jul"; Islam.
  31. ^ Xinhua, "China: Congress deputies propose free trade zones along continental bridge".
  32. ^ Fu.

References

Print

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  • Berk, Michael (November 27, 2007). "The Arctic Bridge; Churchill, Man., is the key to linking Afghans with the world". National Post. p. FP 15. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Blomfield, Adrien (April 20, 2007). "Kremlin revives plan for 60-mile tunnel to Alaska". Daily Telegraph. p. 19. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Fu, Jing (August 27, 2004). "UN promotes role of Eurasian continental link". China Daily. p. 2. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Christian, David (2000). "Silk Roads or Steppe Roads? The Silk Roads in World History". Journal of World History. 2.1 (Spring). University of Hawaii Press: 1. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
  • Funabashi, Yoichi (December 24, 2002). "Yoichi Funabashi at Vladivostok". Asahi Evening News. p. 1. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Hearst, David (April 21, 2007). "Readers' page: You asked...: Will a tunnel linking Russia to the US be built?". The Guardian. p. 40. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • International Railway Journal (March 2008). "Just 15 days after leaving Beijing, the first demonstration intermodal freight service operated by Eurasian Land Bridge between China and Germany arrived in Hamburg on January 24". p. 7. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Mirak-Weissbach, Muriel (August 2, 2000). "Iranian President's Visit to China Advances Strategic, Cultural Dialogue Part 1". Tehran Times. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Ren, Daniel (June 11, 2009). "Jiangsu coast to act as catalyst for growth: Region will be turned into a transport hub". South China Morning Post. p. 5. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Sciacca, Joe (September 10, 2001). "Race for 9th District; As races go, Joe would've loved this one". Boston Herald. p. 4.
  • The Statesman (July 21, 2009). "Third land link to Europe envisioned".
  • Underhill, William (July 28, 2008). "All Tickets, Please - As oil prices rise, businesses and consumers alike are ditching planes and cars for more-efficient rail". Newsweek.
  • The Virginian-Pilot (November 3, 2002). "Three Candidates Face Off In Bid For Incumbent Warner's Senate Seat; All Virginia Voters Will Decide Who Among The Candidates Will Begin Serving A Six-Year Term In January".
  • Wehrfritz, George (August 13, 2001). "The Coming Rail Boom - A Moscow-Pyongyang deal to extend the Trans-Siberian Railway could boost Eurasian commerce". Newsweek. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Xinhua News Agency (November 24, 2008). "Experts propose developing SW corridor of third Asia-Europe land-bridge".
  • Xinhua News Agency (July 1, 2007). "NW China mulls "New Silk Road" exhibition park".
  • Xinhua News Agency (June 21, 2007). "China northwest city to host UN meet on Eurasia continental bridge 29 Jun-4 Jul". BBC Monitoring.
  • Xinhua News Agency (March 11, 2004). "China: Congress deputies propose free trade zones along continental bridge". BBC Monitoring.

Web

Further information

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