All Asia articles
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In depthAsia: ESCAP rethinks trans-continental supply chains
Covid-19 and the Ukrainian crisis have impacted on Eurasian rail flows, but ESCAP believes railways still have a key role to play in an integrated multimodal transport system supporting global supply chains. Raghu Dayal reports.
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News
Russia – China railway bridges the River Amur
ASIA: The cross-border railway bridge over the River Amur linking Nizhneleninskoye in Russia with Tongjiang in China opened on November 16, with an initial 50-wagon train carrying iron ore from Russia to China. The bridge shortens the route between southeastern Siberia and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast ...
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Six policy reforms to strengthen railways in Central Asia
ASIA: An Asian Development Bank assessment of the state of railways in the 11 countries of the Central Asia Regional Economic Co-operation Programme has set out six reforms that ADB believes are needed to make rail more efficient and financially sustainable. The CAREC area covers Afghanistan, ...
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Trans-Caspian rail and sea freight route to Europe launched
INTERNATIONAL: Nurminen Logistics’ first full-length container service from China to central Europe via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route left Chongqing on May 10. The containers will travel by rail through Kazakhstan to the port of Aktau, across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan and then by rail ...
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India – Nepal broad gauge passenger train service launched
NEPAL: Cross-border passenger services from Jayanagar in the Indian state of Bihar to Janakpur and Kurtha in Nepal were inaugurated on April 2, with the dispatch of the first train on the 34·9 km cross-border railway following conversion to 1 676 mm gauge. The first train ...
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Politics and geography impede Central Asian rail freight corridors
INTERNATIONAL: The development of a southern rail corridor between China and Europe via Central Asia, Iran and Turkey as an alternative to the established routes through Russia is facing substantial difficulties, a breakout session of the European Silk Road Summit heard. Andreas Schwilling, Senior Advisor at ...
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In depth
Market trends: Cautious builders eye slow recovery
While existing contracts have sustained the global rolling stock industry through the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, future prospects will be determined by the pace of recovery in rail travel over the next few years.
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In depth
Interview: ‘We have the tools – it is in our hands to deliver’
The next decade will be crucial for the global fight against irreversible climate change, and rail is the only mode that is well placed to deliver significant decarbonisation in the transport sector, UIC Director-General François Davenne explains to Chris Jackson.
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In depth
Comment: The politics of infrastructure
Rising geopolitical complexity around the world raises a challenge that policymakers and railway planners will have to overcome if ambitions for modal shift to rail are to be realised in the years ahead, argues our Managing Editor Nick Kingsley.
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News
Islamabad – Tehran – Istanbul freight service relaunched
ASIA: A rail freight service linking Islamabad, Tehran and Istanbul has been relaunched, a decade after the last attempt to develop services on the 6 500 km route. The ISI train was despatched with a ceremony in Islamabad on December 21, and reached Ankara on January ...
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Indian Ocean – China freight corridor launched
ASIA: A first trial shipment has been completed on a sea, road and rail freight corridor linking Chengdu with the Indian Ocean via Myanmar. This is intended to provide inland China with a route to and from southeast Asia which avoids China’s eastern ports. The trial ...
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Amur bridge between Russia and China completed
ASIA: Work has been completed on a 2·2 km bridge across the River Amur connecting Tongjiang in China’s Heilongjiang province with Nizhneleninskoe station in Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Oblast. The two governments signed an agreement to build the bridge in October 2008, and a groundbreaking ceremony was ...
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Bangladesh – India cross-border freight services revived
ASIA: Regular freight services on the 10 km cross-border line between Haldibari in India and Chilahati in Bangladesh restarted on August 1 after a hiatus of 56 years. Indian Railways dispatched a train loaded with aggregates from Damdim on the Northeast Frontier Railway for export to ...
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Rail and road service to avoid border delays in Southeast Asia
ASIA: CEVA Logistics has launched a ‘truck-rail-truck’ service to keep freight moving between China and Southeast Asia, where the Covid-19 crisis has led to fewer flights, capacity limits, operational restrictions and waits of up to four days for road traffic crossing the border between China and Vietnam. ...
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Bamboo sleepers aimed at Middle Eastern railways
ASIA: A start-up branded TieBam is targeting Asian rail enhancement projects with a novel sleeper design produced from bamboo. Following more than five years of research and development activity, US-registered TieBam plans to open a manufacturing facility in Taiwan through a wholly-owned subsidiary later this year. According ...
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UIC shares ways to restore confidence in rail travel
COVID-19: The International Union of Railways has published a summary of potential steps that could be adopted to increase customer confidence in rail transport following the coronavirus pandemic.
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Eurasian freight market is still developing
ANALYSIS: Up to 2 million TEU could be moving by rail across the Eurasian landbridge corridors by 2030, according to a study commissioned by the International Union of Railways.
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UBS predicts post-pandemic shift from air to high speed rail
INTERNATIONAL: A report published by UBS Research suggests that many travellers will switch from air to high speed rail in the post Covid-19 period.
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Cross-sea rail and road bridge to open in 2020
CHINA: The 16·3 km Pingtan Bridge carrying a railway and road across the Haitan Strait is expected to open during 2020, significantly reducing journey times between Fuzhou and Pingtan Island off the east coast of Fujian province. The fixed link which includes three cable-stayed bridges is being ...
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Beijing – Zhangjiakou PDL inaugurated with national timetable change
CHINA: The 174 km Passenger-Dedicated Line running northwest from Beijing to Zhangjiakou was opened for revenue service on December 30, along with the 53 km branch from Xiahuayuan Bei to Taizicheng which has been built to serve the Chongli Olympic Village and venues for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
