Russia Eyes New Siberia-China Rail Link

Russian authorities are considering building a new railway through the Altai Mountains to China, The Moscow Times reports. The proposal is being studied as part of a 27 July directive from President Vladimir Putin on developing a new transport corridor.

The proposed Trans-Altai Railway would provide a shorter route for transporting coal from Siberia to China and ease pressure on the overburdened Baikal-Amur Mainline and Trans-Siberian Railway. It would also form part of a new transport corridor intended to compete with routes connecting China and Europe while bypassing Russia.

Four possible routes are under consideration, ranging from 825 to 1,123 km in length. Around 600–900 km of new track would need to be built in Russia, with the remainder in China.

There is no official cost estimate, but based on comparable projects in similarly difficult terrain, the Russian section alone could cost between 1.5tn and 2.2tn rubles ($17bn–$25bn).

The main source of freight would be coal from Kuzbass. Regional Governor Ilya Seredyuk has said logistics account for as much as 80% of the price of coal exported to China through Russia’s Far East.

However, analysts have questioned the project's economic prospects. The International Energy Agency expects Chinese coal consumption to decline gradually through 2030, while imports are projected to fall by around 2.5% annually as the country relies on high domestic production and rapidly expands renewable energy.

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