The Russian government has resumed discussions on the Trans-Altai Railway project to China

The Russian government has resumed discussions on the project to build the Trans-Altai railway, which will allow access to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. Kommersant writes about this with reference to a source familiar with the discussion.

The issue is being worked out after the instruction of the country's President Vladimir Putin on July 27 regarding the new Middle Transport Corridor, a potential competitor to the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), launched in 2017, bypassing Russia through Central Asia and the Caucasus republics. The goal of the project is to create an alternative to the southern sea routes between Europe and Asia.

The route to China through the Altai Mountains was considered back in the 2000s as part of the potential route of the Altai gas pipeline. However, the project was then postponed due to a number of problems. It was not possible to overcome price differences, the technical complexity turned out to be too high, and in addition, it was necessary to cross the Ukok Plateau Nature Reserve.

Later in 2021, JSC Russian Railways remembered the project. It was assumed that the new railway would relieve congestion at the Eastern training ground (Baikal-Amur and Trans-Siberian railways). Then the monopoly calculated that the tunnel would be expensive, but if overpasses were used, the advantages of the new route would make it possible to make a profit from transporting coal.

There are currently four road options on the table. The beginning of the route can be the city of Biysk in the Altai Territory, Tashtagol in the Kemerovo Region or Abaza in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The length of the route will be from 825 to 1,123 kilometers, including 228 kilometers in China. At the same time, in 2025, the government abandoned the construction of the North Siberian Railway (the Trans-Altai route was supposed to be part of it) due to excessive cost.

One of the lobbyists for the new route to China is the authorities of the Kemerovo region. The governor of the region, Ilya Seredyuk, noted that 80 percent of the cost of coal sold to China currently goes into logistics, and direct deliveries will dramatically improve the financial condition of the region.

However, the head of Infoline-Analytics, Mikhail Burmistrov, recalled that given the current energy trends in China, that is, the development of renewable energy (RES), it is difficult to imagine a situation in which the gigantic costs of a new megaproject will be justified in the long term.

“There is potential for coking coal and anthracite, but even the relevance of the third stage of expansion of the BAM and Trans-Siberian Railway is becoming less and less,” the expert explained.