The Turkestan–Siberian Railway (commonly abbreviated as the ''Turk–Sib'', , , ; ) is a

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 ...

railway that connects

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

with

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. It starts north of

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

Arys Arys may refer to: People * Evelyn Arys (born 1990), Belgian racing cyclist Places * Arys, Kazakhstan * Arys (lake), Kazakhstan * Arys (river), Kazakhstan * Orzysz (German or Lithuanian: ''Arys''), Poland * Orzysz (lake) (German: '), in Poland ...

, where it branches off from the

Trans-Aral Railway The Trans-Aral Railway, also known as the Tashkent Railway, is a railway built in 1906 to connect Kinel and Tashkent, both then within the Russian Empire. For much of the early 20th century, it was the only railway link between European Russia a ...

. It heads roughly northeast through

Shymkent Shymkent (, ; ) is a city in southern Kazakhstan, located near the border with Uzbekistan. It holds the status of a city of republican significance, one of only three cities in Kazakhstan with this distinction, alongside Almaty and Astana. As of ...

Taraz Taraz ( ; also historically known as Talas) is a city and the administrative center of Jambyl Region in Kazakhstan, located on the Talas (river), Talas (Taraz) River in the south of the country near the border with Kyrgyzstan. It had a populatio ...

Bishkek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...

(on a spur) to the former Kazakh capital of

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

. There it turns northward to

Semey Semey (; , formerly known as Semipalatinsk ( ) until 2007 and as Alash-Qala ( ) from 1917 to 1920, is a city in eastern Kazakhstan, in the Kazakh part of Siberia. When Abai Region was created in 2022, Semey became its administrative centre. I ...

before crossing the

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 ...

n border. It passes through

Barnaul Barnaul (, ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative centre of Altai Krai, Russia, located at the confluence of the Barnaulka and Ob (river), Ob rivers in the West Siberian Plain. As of the Russian Censu ...

before ending at

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...

, where it meets the West Siberian portion of 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 ...

. The bulk of construction work was undertaken between 1926 and 1931.

Construction history

The idea of a railway between Siberia and

Russian Turkestan Russian Turkestan () was a colony of the Russian Empire, located in the western portion of the Central Asian region of Turkestan. Administered as a Krai or Governor-Generalship, it comprised the oasis region to the south of the Kazakh Steppe, b ...

was aired as early as 1886, but it was supplanted by that of a more practicable line between Tashkent and

Orenburg Orenburg (, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is close to the ...

in the

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.

. On 15 October 1896 the Verny town

duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

set up a commission to examine the feasibility of building a Turkestan–Siberia Railway. It was expected that the line would facilitate the transport of cotton from Turkestan to Siberia and cheap Siberian grain from Russia to the

Fergana Valley The Fergana Valley (also commonly spelled the Ferghana Valley) in Central Asia crosses eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan. Encompassing three former Republics of the Soviet Union, Soviet republics, the valley is e ...

. An eastern branch would enhance Russia's military and economic presence on the

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

border. In 1906 the Russian imperial government decided to finance the construction of the first section, between

and

. A team of Russian engineers made a detailed survey of the steppe and semi-desert regions the railway was expected to cross. On 21 October 1915 the northern section linking

and

Semipalatinsk Semey (; , formerly known as Semipalatinsk ( ) until 2007 and as Alash-Qala ( ) from 1917 to 1920, is a city in eastern Kazakhstan, in the Kazakh part of Siberia. When Abai Region was created in 2022, Semey became its administrative centre. I ...

as the Altai Railway. The missing Arys–

Pishpek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the border with Kazakhstan ...

–

Tokmak Tokmak (, ) is a small city in Polohy Raion, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, in south-central Ukraine. It stands on the Tokmak River, a tributary of the Molochna. It is the administrative centre of the Tokmak urban hromada, and was the centre of the T ...

section, officially known as

Railway, was left to be built by a French-financed Russian-managed private railway consortium.

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

put an end to this project. After the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was led by Vladimir L ...

construction work was suspended for a decade, and the long Semipalatinsk– Ayaguz line, built-in 1918–19 by the White Russians on the initiative of

Admiral Kolchak Admiral Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (; – 7 February 1920) was a Russian navy officer and polar explorer who led the White movement in the Russian Civil War. As he assumed the title of Supreme Ruler of Russia in 1918, Kolchak headed a mili ...

, was demolished for no apparent reason. The remaining railway were constructed with great fanfare as part of the

first five-year plan First five-year plan may refer to: * First five-year plan (China) * First Five-Year Plans (Pakistan) * First five-year plan (Soviet Union) The first five-year plan (, ) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was a list of economi ...

between 1928 and 1932. Regular passenger service was finally established between Semipalatinsk and Ayaguz on 10 May 1929. The Turksib was completed on 21 April 1930. The locomotive which pioneered the route going from Tashkent to Semipalatinsk (Э-1441(rus)) later became a part of a memorial in

Alma-Ata Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains in southern Kazakhstan, near the border wi ...

. Viktor Alexandrovitsh Turin directed a 1929

Soviet 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 ...

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

film on the building of the railway which also bore the name '' Turksib''.

Connectivity

Years after the Turksib was completed, it was joined at Shu by Kazakhstan's main north-south line, which serves

Karaganda Karaganda (, ; ), also known as Karagandy (, ; ; ) (also sometimes romanized as Qaraghandy), is a major city in central Kazakhstan and the capital of the Karaganda Region. It is the fifth most populous city in the country, with a population o ...

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

and

Petropavl Petropavl ( ; ) is a city on the Ishim River in northern Kazakhstan close to the border with Russia. It is the capital of the North Kazakhstan Region. Population: 218,956. Petropavl is about from Kökşetau, northwest of the national cap ...

ovsk, on one of the main

Transsib 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 ...

routes. In 1990, Aktogay station, roughly midway between

and Semipalatinsk, became an important junction. Lines from there run east, connecting at

Dostyk Dostyk (, ''Dostyq'') or Druzhba () is a small town in Kazakhstan's Jetisu Region, on the border with Xinjiang, China. It is a port of entry (by highway and railroad) from China. The rail portion serves as an important link in the Eurasian L ...

with

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 ...

's Lanxin railway Line (toward Urumqi,

Lanzhou Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu province in northwestern China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. His ...

, and heartland China); and west, to Balkhash and Karaganda.

References

*Vitali A. Rakov. ''Russian Locomotives'', 2nd ed. Moscow, 1995. *Inkerin suomalaiset GPU:n kourissa. Helsinki 1942. Inkerin karkoitettujen kirjeitä. Helsinki 1943. *

Eugene Lyons Eugene Lyons (July 1, 1898 – January 7, 1985), born Yevgeny Natanovich Privin (Russian: Евгений Натанович Привин), was a Russian-born American journalist and writer. A fellow traveler of Communism in his younger years, Ly ...

, ''Locomotives Come to Central Asia'', a chapter in ''Assignment in Utopia''

External links

On the Legendary Turksib railway
Qazaqstan Tarihy порталы, 19 September 2018.
Video: Turksib (1929). Classic Soviet rail documentary. Short version. English commentary & introduction

Turksib 1929 / Турксиб (English Subtitles)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turkestan-Siberia Railway Rail transport in the Soviet Union Railway lines in Russia Cross-border railway lines in Russia Rail transport in Siberia Railway lines in Kazakhstan Rail transport in Kyrgyzstan Rail transport in Uzbekistan Railway lines opened in 1931 International railway lines Articles containing video clips

Construction history

Connectivity

References

Further reading

External links