New railway to China to be connected via one corridor, route being developed - Kuzbas authorities

TOMSK. Oct 31 (Interfax) - The North-Siberian railroad (Sevsib) will be connected to China by only one railroad corridor, Kemerovo Region Governor and Chairman of the Council of the "Siberian Agreement" Interregional Association Sergey Tsivilev told Interfax in Tomsk on Tuesday.

"This issue is now being elaborated, there is no final decision yet, [whether to build a new railroad corridor through Tuva and] through Mongolia or to go directly [through the city of Tashtagol in the Kemerovo Region to the Chinese city of Urumqi]. It is probably wrong to build two roads," Tsivilev said.

The advantage of routing through Tashtagol is access directly to the border of Russia and China. "In this case we are not dependent on any other state, we have our own border with China and access to this branch independently," Tsivilev said. At the same time, he recognized that the route through Tashtagol is complicated by the Altai highlands and the presence of the "Ukok Rest Area" specially protected natural area on the Russia-China border.

As reported, the plan for implementation of the strategy for socio-economic development of the Siberian Federal District, published in October, envisages the formation of two new railroad corridors to the PRC. The first corridor involves the creation of Sevsib, which, according to the document, should run from Nizhnevartovsk (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District) to Bely Yar (Tomsk Region), as well as from Tashtagol (Kemerovo Region) to Urumqi (China).

The second corridor should pass through Tuva, including the prospective Kuragino - Kyzyl line. Further, the railroad should go south and cross the border between Russia and Mongolia through the Tsagan-Tolgoi - Ars-Sury border crossing. In Mongolia, the corridor is divided into two. The "Northern" route goes to Erdenet, adjacent to the existing Trans-Mongolian railroad, which through Ulaanbaatar and Zamyn-Uude enters China in Erlian (Eren-Khoto), from where there is direct access to Beijing and Tianjin.

The "Western" route of the second corridor involves the construction of a line from Ars Suri through the Mongolian city of Kobdo (Hovd) and the Chinese city of Takeshken (Takesheken) to Urumqi.