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Ulaanbaatar Railway (, , , ) is the national railway operator of
Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
. It was established in 1949 as a joint venture between the Mongolian People’s Republic and the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. The company is jointly owned by the Mongolian and Russian government through
Russian Railways Russian Railways or RZD () is a Russian fully state-owned vertically integrated railway company, both managing infrastructure and operating freight and passenger train services and has a near-monopoly on long-distance train travel in Russia. ...
, with each having a 50% stake.
Rail transport Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
is an important means of travel in the
landlocked country A landlocked country is a country that has no territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie solely on endorheic basins. Currently, there are 44 landlocked countries, two of them doubly landlocked (Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan), and t ...
of
Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
, which has relatively few paved roads. According to official statistics, rail transport carried 93% of Mongolian freight and 43% of passenger turnover in 2007. The Mongolian rail system employs 12,500 people. The national operator is UBTZ (Ulaanbataar Railway, traditionally also known as Mongolian Railway (MTZ, ). This can be a source of confusion, since MTZ is a distinct company established in 2008 to maintain UBTZ infrastructure. The Mongolian Railway College is located in Ulaanbaatar. The infrastructure of UBTZ consists of 1,815 km of
broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...
lines. UBTZ employs 14,046 people, owns 110 locomotives and about 3,000 wagons. The UBTZ network consists of two main lines: * the Sukhbaatar-Zamyn-Üüd line, running north to south; * the Ereentsav- Choibalsan line.


History

The
Trans-Mongolian Railway The Trans-Mongolian Railway (, ) connects Ulan-Ude on the Trans-Siberian Railway in Buryatia, Russia, with Ulanqab in Inner Mongolia, China, via Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. It was completed in 1956, and runs from northwest to south ...
connects the
Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...
from Ulan Ude in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
to
Erenhot Erenhot ( ; zh, s=二连浩特, p=Èrliánhàotè, commonly shortened to Ereen or Erlian) is a county-level city under jurisdiction of the Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia, China, located in the Gobi Desert along the Sino-Mongolian border, ac ...
and
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
through the capital
Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...
. The Mongolian section of this line runs for .Montsame News Agency. ''Mongolia''. 2006, , p. 93 The Trans-Mongolian Railway runs through Mongolia on
Russian gauge Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
track, changing to
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
track after entering China. There are several spur lines: to the copper combine in
Erdenet Erdenet (; , 'precious, valuable') is the third-largest city in Mongolia and the provincial capital of Orkhon. Located in the northern Mongolia, it lies in a valley between the Selenge and Orkhon rivers about ( as the crow flies) northwest o ...
, to coal mines in Sharyngol,
Nalaikh Nalaikh ( ) is one of nine districts of Ulaanbaatar. It has an area of 68,700 hectares and a population of 39,579 in 2022 (26,529 in 2005). A former coal-mining town, it is subdivided into 8 subdistricts, incorporating Shokhoi, Arjanchivlan, the ...
and
Baganuur Baganuur (, , ''Little Lake'') is one of nine düüregs (districts) of the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar. It is subdivided into five khoroos (subdistricts). Baganuur is a remote district and exclave covering 620 square kilometres (239 sq mi), ...
, to the
fluorspar Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is the mineral form of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It belongs to the halide minerals. It crystallizes in isometric cubic habit, although octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon. The Mohs scal ...
mine in
Bor-Öndör Bor-Öndör () is a city in Khentii Province in eastern Mongolia. It is situated in the Darkhan, Khentii, Darkhan Sums of Mongolia, sum (district), but is administrated separately. Geography The City is at an elevation of 1300 meters and loca ...
, to the former Soviet military base and refinery at Züünbayan. Another line links Züünbayan with Khangi on the Chinese border. A separate railway line exists in the east of the country between Choibalsan and the Trans-Siberian at
Borzya Borzya ( rus, Борзя, p=ˈborzʲə; , ''Boorjo''; , ''Boorj'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Borzinsky District in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located southeast of Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai, ...
; however, that line is closed to passengers across the Mongolia-Russia border; passenger trains terminate at Chuluunkhoroot (Ereentsav). This line used to have a spur line to the uranium mine at Mardai, however this spur line was torn up and sold in the late 1990s/ early 2000s. For domestic transport, daily trains run from
Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...
to Darkhan, Sukhbaatar, and Erdenet, as well as Zamyn-Üüd, Choir and Sainshand. Mongolia uses the (Russian gauge) with a total system length of . The Mongolian Railway (MongolRail) is slated to cover by year 2025. The coverage track distance will get increased by . Mongolian railways transported 20.5 million tons of freight in 2013, which is close to the system's full capacity. Transporting transit cargo between Russia and China is an important source of revenue for the country's railway system; in addition to this, railways are used to transport domestic coal to power plants. As of November 2023, Tavantolgoi-Zuunbayan railway and the Khangi-Mandal crossing on Mongolia’s border with China has been completed adding 226.9km (140 miles) across the south-east of Mongolia.


Proposed lines

A 2010 Mongolian government plan proposed of new track, for the primary purpose of connecting Dalanzadgad and Choibalsan, to be built in three stages: * the first stage, totaling and linking Dalanzadgad– Tavan Tolgoi mineTsagaan Suvarga mine–Züünbayan (), Sainshand–
Baruun-Urt Baruun-Urt (; , ''west-long'') is a town in eastern Mongolia and the capital of Sükhbaatar Province. The town with its vicinities creates a sum (district) of Sükhbaatar Province. The Baruun-Urt sum area is 59 km², population 15,549, po ...
(), Baruun-Urt– Khööt mine (), and Khööt–Choibalsan (); * the second stage, totaling and connecting the first stage with the Chinese border, linking Nariin Sukhait mineShivee Khüren (), Tavan Tolgoi– Gashuun Sukhait (), Khööt– TamsagbulagNömrög (), and Khööt– Bichigt (); and * the third stage, totaling ) and not described in detail, but including a link with Tsagaannuur on the Russian border and a line from Ulaanbaatar to
Kharkhorin Kharkhorin () is a town and sum (district) center in Övörkhangai Province in Mongolia. The sum population was 13,828 (1994), 13,964 (2000), and 14,765 (2017). The population of Kharkhorin town itself was 14,765 in 2017 and covered an area of ...
. In 2012, a line connecting Erdenet–
Mörön Mörön (; ) is the administrative center of Khövsgöl, Mongolia. Before 1933, Khatgal had been the aimag capital. It has 12,286 families and a population of 46,918, and is considered a major city such as Ulaanbaatar, Darhan, Erdenet and ...
Ovoot mineArts Suuri on the Russian border () was approved, but never built. In 2014, it was announced that the planned Tavan Tolgoi–Gashuun Sukhait and Khööt–Bichigt lines were to be of Chinese gauge, while the Dalanzadgad–Choibalsan, Khööt–Nömrög, and Erdenet–Artssuuri lines were to be of Russian gauge. In 2016, a line linking Züünbayan to Khangi on the Chinese border () was approved; it was completed in 2023. A 2017 government plan, greatly reduced in scope from the 2010 one, proposed linking Khööt–Choibalsan, Nariin Sukhait–Shivee Khüren, Khööt–Bichigt, and Züünbayan–Khangi.


Rolling stock

As Mongolia's railroads are not electrified, UBTZ relies entirely on Diesel traction. Most common locomotives are M62 variants, including five rebuilt 2Zagal ( two white horses) double engines. Other engines include TEM2 and TE116 variants, Dash-7 and two Evolution locomotive on lease from GE. In October 2010, Ulaanbaatar Railway ordered 31 2TE116UM diesel freight locomotives from Transmash.


Maps


UN Map
Dead link, 05.28.23)

Dead link, 05.28.23)


Tourist attractions

* Mongolian Railway History Museum


See also

* Transport in Mongolia


Notes


References


External links

*
Official site Railway Authority of Mongolia

Gallery of railways pictures in Mongolia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mongolian Rail Transport 1949 establishments in Mongolia Government-owned companies of Mongolia Government-owned companies of Russia Government-owned railway companies Railway companies established in 1949 Railway companies of Mongolia