Trans Karakum railway
Encyclopedia
The Trans-Karakum Railway is a 540 km (336 mi) long railway in the central Asian
republic of Turkmenistan
. The railway was officially completed on 19 February 2006.
The railway took over 1,500 workers more than five years to build, with 800 contractors working in the harsh conditions of the Karakum Desert
. The railway was built using no foreign specialists - only companies and contractors from Turkmenistan were used. The opening ceremony was held at Içoguz (formerly Darvaza
), where a white marble
railway station with a capacity of 100 people a day was built for the event.
The railway takes 12 hours to traverse, halving the previous travel time between the two cities of Ashgabat and Dashoguz by replacing the route from through Mary
and Lebap
provinces and along the border with Uzbekistan
with one 700 km (435 mi) shorter. There are 17 stations along the entire route, some serving existing villages, and others serving as a drop-off point for planned villages. Over 130 bridges span the various water features, and a new highway is also being constructed alongside the railway. It is the third large-scale project implemented since Turkmenistan's independence. Earlier, a 132 km (82 mi) stretch of the 280 km (174 mi) Tejen
-Serakhs-Mashhad
railway as well as the 205 km (127 mi) long Türkmenabat
-Atamyrat railway were built in the country.
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
republic of Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
. The railway was officially completed on 19 February 2006.
The railway took over 1,500 workers more than five years to build, with 800 contractors working in the harsh conditions of the Karakum Desert
Karakum Desert
The Karakum Desert, also spelled Kara-Kum and Gara Gum is a desert in Central Asia. It occupies about 70 percent, or 350,000 km², of the area of Turkmenistan....
. The railway was built using no foreign specialists - only companies and contractors from Turkmenistan were used. The opening ceremony was held at Içoguz (formerly Darvaza
Darvaza
Derweze is a Turkmenistan village of about 350 inhabitants, located in the middle of the Karakum desert, about 260 km north from Ashgabat....
), where a white marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
railway station with a capacity of 100 people a day was built for the event.
The railway takes 12 hours to traverse, halving the previous travel time between the two cities of Ashgabat and Dashoguz by replacing the route from through Mary
Mary Province
Mary Province is one of the welayatlar of Turkmenistan. It is in the south-east of the country, bordering Afghanistan. Its capital is the city of Mary. Its area is and population 1,480,400...
and Lebap
Lebap Province
Lebap Province is one of the provinces of Turkmenistan. It is in the northeast of the country, bordering Uzbekistan along the Amu Darya. Its capital is Türkmenabat...
provinces and along the border with Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
with one 700 km (435 mi) shorter. There are 17 stations along the entire route, some serving existing villages, and others serving as a drop-off point for planned villages. Over 130 bridges span the various water features, and a new highway is also being constructed alongside the railway. It is the third large-scale project implemented since Turkmenistan's independence. Earlier, a 132 km (82 mi) stretch of the 280 km (174 mi) Tejen
Tejen
Tejen is an oasis city in the Karakum Desert, in Ahal Province of Turkmenistan. It is located at latitude 37.3786 North; longitude 60.4961 East at an altitude of 161 meters...
-Serakhs-Mashhad
Mashhad
Mashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its...
railway as well as the 205 km (127 mi) long Türkmenabat
Türkmenabat
Türkmenabat , formerly and since the medieval times, Chardzhou , also spelled Çärjew, Chardjui, Charjou, Chardzhev, Charjev, Chärjew, or Charjew , ancient Amul, is a town in Turkmenistan, capital of Lebap Province...
-Atamyrat railway were built in the country.