The Northern Corridor of the Trans-Asian Railway

ERINA REPORT Vol. 58 2004 JULY The Northern Corridor of the Trans-Asian Railway Pierre Chartier Economic Affairs Officer, UNESCAP Background formulation of rail and road networks with an emphasis on The 1980s and early 1990s witnessed some dramatic minimizing the number of routes to be included in the changes in the political and economic environment of networks and making maximum use of existing countries in the UNESCAP region. Peace returned to infrastructure; (iii) a focus on the facilitation of land Southeast Asia, countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia transport at border crossings through the promotion of became independent and a number of countries adopted relevant international conventions and agreements as an more market-oriented economic principles. These changes, important basis for the development of trade and tourism; which resulted in more outward-looking policies, led to and (iv) the promotion of close international cooperation unprecedented growth in trade to and from the UNESCAP with other United Nations agencies, including UNECE and region, at a rate that was twice the global figure. In UNCTAD2, as well as other governmental and non- addition, a salient feature of the region's trade growth was governmental organizations such as the International Union the increasing significance of trade within the region itself. of Railways (UIC), the Organization for Railway Concomitantly, the number of journeys by people within Cooperation (OSJD), the International Road Union (IRU) the region to neighboring countries for both tourism and and the International Road Federation (IRF). business purposes also soared. Each of these developments increased demands on the region's transport and The Trans-Asian Railway component of ALTID. communications systems and underscored the need to The Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) project was initiated improve and expand existing infrastructure and upgrade the in the early 1960s with, at the time, the objective of operational efficiency of linkages between the countries of providing a continuous 14,000km rail link between the region as well as with other regions. Singapore and Istanbul (Turkey), and possible onward Recognizing that a process of profound change was connections to Europe and Africa. This link offered the underway, the 48th session of the Commission1, held in potential to shorten distances and reduce transit times Bangkok in April 1992, endorsed the Asian Land Transport between countries and regions to a considerable degree, Infrastructure Development (ALTID) project. The project while being a catalyst for the notion of international was formulated around three components, namely: the transport as a tool for trade expansion, economic growth Trans-Asian Railway (TAR), the Asian Highway (AH) and and cultural exchange. the facilitation of land transport, with the objective of improving intraregional and interregional transport links as Box 1. TAR-Related Corridor Studies Carried part of the secretariat's efforts to assist member countries in Out by UNESCAP addressing the challenges of globalization by providing them with a tool for accessing the world's markets. 1. Feasibility study on connecting the rail networks of China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Korean Peninsula Implementation of the ALTID project and the Russian Federation (1996) - Northern In turning intentions into reality several considerations Corridor dictated a pragmatic approach. One consideration was the 2. Development of the Trans-Asian Railway in the sheer scope of the project itself in terms of the geographical Indo-China and ASEAN subregion (1996); (countries area that it encompassed, i.e. almost the entire Asian concerned: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, continent. Another was the disparities in the development Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) of land transport networks in the countries and subregions 3. Development of the Trans-Asian Railway, Trans- concerned, and, finally, the availability of resources in Asian Railway in the Southern Corridor of Asia- individual member countries. As a result, a specific strategy Europe Routes (1999); (countries concerned: was adopted for the implementation of ALTID. This Bangladesh, China, India, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan, strategy comprised (i) a major emphasis on project Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey) implementation at the subregional level to make the project 4. Development of the Trans-Asian Railway, Trans- more manageable for UNESCAP, while reinforcing the Asian Railway in the North-South Corridor Northern ownership of the member countries through the full Europe to the Persian Gulf (2001); (countries involvement of existing subregional groupings as partners concerned: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Finland, Iran, in the implementation process; (ii) a step-by-step approach Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan) through a series of corridor studies to assist in the 1 The Commission is made up of high-level government officials from ESCAP member countries and is the main legislative organ of ESCAP. It meets once a year to consider economic and social issues of regional importance, review ESCAP activities and adopt its program of work. 2 ECE - Economic Commission for Europe. UNCTAD - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. 10 ERINA REPORT Vol. 58 2004 JULY The international events that punctuated the 1960s, requires a joint approach by the railways concerned and by 1970s and early 1980s had a negative impact on the their respective governments. Such elements as the concept and its momentum during these three decades. importance of the link in regional economic development However, with the political and economic changes that or trade may influence the decision to consent to a took place in the region in the 1980s and early 1990s, TAR- particular project. However, the traffic-generating potential related activities were reactivated under the ALTID project. of each route compared to the cost of constructing the In 1996, the first of four major corridor studies (see Box 1) necessary infrastructure will no doubt be a crucial factor, reflecting the regional approach adopted to implement the especially if private sector investment is to be sought. project was published. The studies followed similar Meanwhile, bridging and, more importantly, operating the methodology and principles, namely: (i) identifying the politically-induced missing links requires a high-level of links according to the ALTID criteria (see Box 2); (ii) bilateral cooperation and understanding. However slow assessing their conformity with a set of technical progress may be in this area, it is nonetheless tangible. requirements (e.g. loading gauges, axle-load, speed); and Thus, progress is underway to reconnect the rail networks (iii) appraising the compatibility of operational practices on between the northern and southern parts of the Korean both sides of different national borders, in order to evaluate Peninsula, and work should commence soon on restoring the possibility of cross-border movements (e.g. couplers, the 48km missing link between Sisophon and Poipet which length of trains). In addition, the "soft" aspects of transport was closed to traffic in 1980, thereby making rail were reviewed with particular attention to tariff-related movement impossible between Cambodia and Thailand. issues and the institutional framework pertaining to the Twelve years into ALTID, the TAR network looks as passage of goods across borders. Finally, two crucial shown in Map 1, with each corridor presenting different infrastructure-related elements were also considered, characteristics in terms of their configuration and namely: (i) the existence of break-of-gauge points along operational readiness. In broad terms, in the Northern specific linkages with an assessment of possible solutions Corridor5, with the exception of the missing link between to overcome this apparent technical incompatibility; and the northern and southern parts of the Korean Peninsula (ii) the existence of so-called 'missing links' making end-to- (currently being constructed), there is a high level of end movement impossible on some of the linkages. operational readiness. In the Southern Corridor, a number The break-of-gauge issue: A break-of-gauge occurs of missing links hamper the development of international when the railways of neighboring countries have different traffic and the priorities given to their development vary track gauges3 as, for example, between China and between countries. In the Indochina and ASEAN Kazakhstan, or the DPRK and Russia. Various techniques subregion, the need to develop subregional rail linkages is exist to overcome these discontinuities. They include now fully accepted and related activities are being transshipment, bogie exchange and the use of variable implemented by the ASEAN secretariat under the gauge bogies4. Whatever solution is adopted, a break-of- Singapore-Kunming Rail Link project, with the Asian gauge always constitutes an interruption to rail operations Development Bank studying the potential for providing since it imposes additional stoppages in the movement of assistance in upgrading existing links and building some of passengers and cargo. the missing links. Finally, in the North-South Corridor The ‘missing link’ issue: A ‘missing link’ is an linking northern Europe to the Persian Gulf, activities are absence of physical linkages between the railway networks being undertaken by the countries concerned with the aim of neighboring countries or an absence of continuous of promoting traffic along the

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