, map_name = , map_state = collapsed , embedded = The Trans-Mongolian Railway follows an ancient tea-caravan route from China to Russia and connects

Ulan-Ude Ulan-Ude (; bua, Улаан-Үдэ, , ; russian: Улан-Удэ, p=ʊˈlan ʊˈdɛ; mn, Улаан-Үд, , ) is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence wi ...

, on the Trans–Baikal ( Trans–Siberian) railway in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, with the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

city of

Jining Jining () is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province. It borders Heze to the southwest, Zaozhuang to the southeast, Tai'an to the northeast, and the provinces of Henan and Jiangsu to the northwest and south respectively. Jinin ...

, by way of

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

. Other important stops are Sükhbaatar, Darkhan,

Choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

, and

Zamyn-Üüd Zamyn-Üüd ( mn, Замын-Үүд; , ''road's gate'') is a sum (district) of Dornogovi Province in southeastern Mongolia. Its population was 11,527 in 2008. History Zamyn-Üüd's actual name comes from the former Dzamiin Üüde settlement loc ...

Erenhot Erenhot ( mn, ; , commonly shortened to Ereen or Erlian) is a county-level city of the Xilin Gol League, in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, located in the Gobi Desert along the Sino-Mongolian border, across from the Mongolian town of Za ...

(

border crossing Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

and gauge-changing station). The line was built between 1949 and 1961. In most of Mongolia, it is

single track Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, and in China double track. The

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, ...

is in Russia and Mongolia and in China. There are important branches leading to

Erdenet Erdenet ( mn, Эрдэнэт, literally "with treasure") is the third-largest city in Mongolia, with a 2018 population of 98,045, and the capital of the aimag (province) of Orkhon. Located in the northern part of the country, it lies in a valley ...

and

Baganuur 8Baganuur ( mn, Багануур, , ''Little Lake'') is one of nine düüregs (districts) of the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar. It is subdivided into six khoroos (subdistricts). Baganuur is a distanced district, located as an exclave of on th ...

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 line (opened in 1938) connecting the coal mines at

Nalaikh Nalaikh () is one of nine Düüregs (districts) of the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar. It is subdivided into 8 Khoroo A khoroo ( mn, хороо) is an administrative subdivision of Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. The term is often tra ...

to the capital and a Soviet-built freight-only branch (completed in 1939) from

Borzya Borzya ( rus, Борзя, p=ˈborzʲə; bua, Бооржо, ''Boorjo''; mn, Боорж, ''Boorj'') is a town and the administrative center of Borzinsky District in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located southeast of Chita, the administrative center ...

on the Trans-Siberian Railway to Bayantümen, Dornod near Choibalsan in north-eastern Mongolia. Russian Irkutsk State University of Railway Engineering opened its

branch in June 2009.

Operation

Mongolian national railway operator '' Ulaanbaatar Tömör Zam'' (Ulaanbaatar Railway JVC) 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. Most trains are headed by at least two locomotives. While Mongolian trains run on (

Russian gauge Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: * Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...

) track, China uses ( standard gauge). For this reason through carriages between the two countries must have their bogies 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.

goods wagon Goods wagons or freight wagons (North America: freight cars), also known as goods carriages, goods trucks, freight carriages or freight trucks, are unpowered railway vehicles that are used for the transportation of cargo. A variety of wagon type ...

s likewise have their bogies exchanged at this

break-of-gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...

Ownership

While state owned, there are plans to sell 51% of the shares to investors to finance the enlarged network.

New lines

In October 2014, the Mongolian government announced its intention to build large-scale transport infrastructure projects to boost mineral shipments from Russia to China via the Trans Mongolian Railway. A 547km line will be constructed from

to Ovoot. "In addition this new railway will bring major economic and social benefits to Northern Mongolian provinces as economic development and regional integration is fast-tracked" said the managing director of Aspire Mining, the company in charge of the railway construction. Mongolian Railway State Owned Share Holding Company has received a license to build a new railway network to allow for exports of the mining sector in 2011. First phase of the construction will be a

Dalanzadgad Dalanzadgad ( mn, Даланзадгад; ) is the capital of Ömnögovi Aimag in Mongolia. It is located south of the national capital Ulaanbaatar. The altitude of the city center is 1,470 meters (4,823 feet). As of 2011, its population is 19,3 ...

– Tavantolgoi– Tsagaansuvarga– Zuunbayan–

Sainshand Sainshand ( mn, Сайншанд; ) is the capital of Dornogovi Province in Mongolia. It is located in the eastern Gobi desert steppe, on the Trans-Mongolian Railway. Administration The territory of Sainshand sum consists of 5 ''bags'' (commu ...

– Baruun Urt– Khoot– Choibalsan alignment about 1100 km long in

. As of spring 2012, MTZ SOSC began the construction work. One smaller line already attaches to the Chinese network in western Mongolia from Nariin Sukhait (coal mine) to Shiveekhüren (Chinese border) for 45km. Further lines planned are Ukhaa Khudag (part of the Tavan Tolgoi coal field) -

Oyu Tolgoi The Oyu Tolgoi mine, also ( mn, Оюутолгой, ; "Turquoise Hill"), is a combined open pit and underground mining project in Khanbogd sum within the south Gobi Desert, approximately east of the Ömnögovi Province capital Dalanzadgad ...

(copper/gold mine) - Gashuun Sukhait (Chinese border) of ca. 260 km in Chinese standard gauge.

Gallery

File:Ulan Bator railway station 2008 1.JPG, Ulan Bator railway station File:Trans_Mongolian_Railway.jpg, A Trans–Mongolian train passing through the Gobi Desert File:Trans_Mongolian_wheel_changing.JPG, Wheels rolling below an elevated carriage during the wheel changing from Mongolian to Chinese gauge File:WheelChanging.jpg, Changing the wheels from Mongolian to Chinese gauge at the border File:Naushki Station.jpg,

Naushki Naushki (russian: На́ушки; bua, Наашхи, ''Naashkhi'') is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Kyakhtinsky District of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located near the border with Mongolia, from the town of Kyakhta. ...

, the Russian border station File:Trans-Mongolian Railway (49309522673).jpg

References

* * Omrani, Bijan
''Asia Overland: Tales of Travel on the Trans-Siberian and Silk Road''
Odyssey Publications, 2010

External links

Mongolian Railway company - official site

Mongolian Incoming Railway Tour Operator since 1997!- official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trans-Mongolian Railway Railway lines in Mongolia Rail transport in Mongolia Rail infrastructure in Mongolia Mongolia–Soviet Union relations China–Mongolia relations China–Soviet Union relations Soviet foreign aid Chinese foreign aid