Kyrgyz Railways

The Kyrgyz Railway (KTJ) is the national railway developer of Kyrgyzstan.

Bishkek-2 railway station
A diesel locomotive on an overpass in Bishkek

Track Network and Rolling Stock

Kyrgyz Railway operates about 320 km of single track lines (with a total track length of 428 km). After the Soviet Union broke up, Kyrgyz Railways obtained 2,500 freight cars, 450 passenger cars and 50 locomotives from the Soviet railways.[1] However, the 1998 financial crisis drastically reduced spending on the railways.[1]

The current rail network is based on the inheritance from the former Soviet Union and as such has a broad gauge of 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in).

Traffic

Freight traffic is now only 13% of its 1990 level, 330 million tkm in 2001, compared to 2,620 million tkm in 1990 and is still falling. Passenger traffic is only about 25% of what it was in 1990. While freight services are profitable, passenger services are losing money, since fares are regulated by the Anti-Monopoly Committee.[1]

Electrification

In 2008 it was announced that work will commence on the electrification of the line which connects the capital Bishkek with the Kazakhstan railway network.[2]

See also

References
  1. World Bank
  2. International Railway Journal, March, 2008


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