Latest Articles about Transit
![](/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/train_azerbaijan_01.jpg)
New Prospects for Development of Transport Sector in Azerbaijan
Continuing drastic declines in energy prices have given new impetus to Azerbaijan’s long-running quest to diversify its economy and develop the domestic non-oil sector. In this regard, the country’s leadership has placed particular importance on the transport sector (Abc.az, April 13; Azernews, March 10). In... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/BTK_railway.jpg)
Completion of Baku–Tbilisi–Kars Railway Project Postponed Again
On February 19, the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey held their fifth trilateral meeting, during which they agreed on the completion date for the construction of the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars (BTK) railway. The BTK railroad will eventually connect the three countries (Civil Georgia, February 19).... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Uzbekistan_tunnel_-_EDM_March_1__2016.jpg)
Uzbekistan Achieves Railroad Independence
Twenty-five years after gaining its political independence, Uzbekistan has become “railway independent,” with its residents now able to travel between one part of their Central Asian republic to another, by rail, without crossing into another country—in this case, Tajikistan. On April 15, a new 123.1-kilometer... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Trans-Caspian_International_Transport_Route__TITR__.jpg)
Bypassing Russia, Ukraine Becomes Another “Silk Road” Terminus
Since an uprising unseated the pro-Russian regime of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014, relations between Kyiv and Moscow have gone from bad to worse. Responding to a recent ban of Ukrainian imports and seeking a way to reach post-Soviet Central Asian states and... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/modi_in_kz.jpg)
Kazakhstan Looks to India, Iran for Access to the World’s Oceans
Since achieving independence in 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, landlocked Kazakhstan has sought to end its geographical isolation by fostering relations with neighboring countries. In recent weeks, Kazakhstan’s national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) and India’s Ministry of Railways signed a... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Kyrgyzstan_railroad_-_EDM_November_3__2015.jpg)
Bishkek Puts Brakes on China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan Railway
As negotiations drag on between Beijing and Bishkek over the technical and financial aspects of constructing the Kyrgyzstani part of the planned China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway, Uzbekistan, with Chinese monetary and technical assistance, is nearing the completion of its section of the railroad. In early September 2015,... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/General_Zhu_Chenghu_01.jpg)
The Belt, the Road and the PLA
During his speech addressing the United Nations General Assembly in late September, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China will take the lead in the creation of an 8,000-strong standby force for peacekeeping operations (FMPRC, September 29). Such a commitment will help cement Chinese military... MORE
Lack of Roads in Russian Far East Limits Moscow’s Power Projection in Pacific
The absence of roads and railways connecting the strategically positioned Kamchatka peninsula, in the Russian Far East, with the rest of the country is undermining Russian national security and reducing Moscow’s ability to project power into the Pacific region, according to Dmitry Verkhoturov. Building either... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Russian_Railroad_.jpeg)
Russia Forges Ahead With New Southern Rail Bypass of Ukraine
On September 21, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree to construct a railway line allowing trains in southern Russian to bypass Ukrainian territory. The new 75-mile double-track electrified railway will replace the existing one, 16 miles of which traverses Ukraine’s war-torn Luhansk region.... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/President_Baku_Sea_Port.jpg)
The New Baku International Seaport: A Nexus for the New Silk Road
Snaking across Eurasia—from China, through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia, and on to Turkey—the first test container train arrived at the new Baku International Sea Trade Port complex, located in the town of Alyat (around 30 miles southwest of Baku), on August 3, 2015. Turkey, Azerbaijan,... MORE