Central Asia’s Rail Network and the Eurasian Land Bridge

There have been trade routes between Asia and Europe since the dawn of human history, culminating in the famous Silk Road that ran a magnificent 15,000 km between Xi’an in China and the Roman Empire. It carried many commodities such as silks, gems, gold, silver, carpets, glass, turquoise, paper, spices, etc., from ancient times in both directions between Asia and Europe. In addition to trade, the Silk Road was a highway of exchange for culture, art, religion and knowledge. However, it was not a well-defined highway in the modern sense, but was more a general route for traders travelling between east and west by camel, donkey cart, and on foot. The long, difficult and dangerous journey across baking deserts, windand rainswept mountains, and swollen rivers changed depending on the period, local ruler, climate and location of oases, caravan posts and bazaars. Alexander the Great, Ghengis Khan, Tamerlane and other historical figures passed this way to fight battles and establish empires that would flower and wither. By the 16th century, European voyagers had discovered a south passage to Asia around the Cape of Good Hope and the Americas were being explored. In the 17th century, Spain, Portugal and England vied for dominance of maritime trade between Asia and Europe, sealing the fate of the slower land route. Over the following centuries, the European powers and Russia extended their sphere of influence into the territories of the Silk Road and new national boundaries changed the traders’ freedom of mobility. Gradually, the Silk Road lost its purpose and its trade died out. Four centuries later, although the Silk Road has lost its role as a transportation corridor, many of the oases have become busy towns with bustling bazaars and the blue tiles of the minarets have not lost their shine. Tourists to the area still appreciate the romance and many reminders of the Silk Road. But now, after many vicissitudes, there is once again a trade land route between east and west—not by camel or donkey but by railway. In 1991, the existing east– west lines of national railways in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan were linked to the tracks of the Railways of the People’s Republic of China. This historical event was made possible by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the new independence of these five central Asian countries. Instead of linking China to the Soviet Union, the railway suddenly connected China to Central Asia. In 1996, the railway in Turkmenistan was extended southwards across the border with Iran to connect with the network of Iranian Islamic Republic Railways. Thus, the east–west line had reached the Persian Gulf, with links to the Caucasus and Turkey, becoming an important trade artery for Eurasia, just like the old Silk Road. However, it still does not reach Europe— gaps remain, and in civil disturbances in other parts make passage difficult. At the present, the ‘Silk Railway’ links Central Asia to China and Iran, but there is no land bridge joining Central Asia to Europe. The only other uninterrupted line permitting travel from Europe to the Pacific is the Trans-Siberian Railway.