Russia Studies Rail Link to China via Altai
The Ministry of Natural Resources may connect the evaluation of the China railway project via Altai.
Consensus
- The Russian government is assessing the feasibility of the Transaltai Railway project.
- The project involves a 55-kilometer rail segment between Kazakhstan and Mongolia, near the Altai Republic border with China's Xinjiang region.
- The initiative is being considered in response to a presidential directive from July 27.
- The goal is to compete with the Trans-Caspian International Transit Route (TMTM) and offer an alternative to southern maritime routes between Europe and Asia.
- The Ministry of Transport has proposed involving the Ministry of Natural Resources to assess environmental constraints.
- The project is being discussed within the Russia-China transport subcommittee.
- Four route variants are currently under consideration, with lengths ranging from 825 to 1123 km, including 228 km in China.
- The project is at the pre-Feasibility Study (pre-TEO) stage.
Points of divergence
- The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TMTM) was launched in 2017 and transported 4.12 million tons in 2025, including 77,000 TEU containers. — interfax
- The project was previously considered in the 2000s as a gas pipeline named 'Altai,' but was delayed due to pricing disagreements, technical complexity, and the need to cross the Ukok Plateau nature reserve. — interfax
- In 2021, Russian Railways (RZD) considered the railway idea, initially concerned about tunnel costs, but noted that elevated construction might offset expenses. — interfax
- In 2023, the project was included in the Siberian Federal District's socio-economic development strategy as part of the North-Siberian Corridor, but was later abandoned due to a cost of 50 trillion rubles. — interfax
- The initial proposed capacity was 30 million tons, mainly coal from Kuzbass, Novosibirsk Oblast, and Khakassia. — interfax
- The project may be approaching the pre-TEO stage, which evaluates overall feasibility and investment justification. — kommersant
Coverage (4 sources)
- Authorities are studying the feasibility of building a railway through the Altai — Вести
- "Y" learned that the cabinet is studying the idea of building a railway in China via Altai — Интерфакс
- Ministry of Natural Resources may connect assessment of railway project to China via Altai — Коммерсантъ
- In the government are discussing the construction of a railway through Altai to China — Коммерсантъ
Key entities
- China
- Russia
- U
- Kazakhstan
- China
- Mongolia
- Altai
- Ministry of Natural Resources
- Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
- Altaye Moscow
- INTERFAX.RU
- Kommersant
- Vladimir Putin
- Commerzant
- Ministry of Transport