Trans-Mongolian Railway

The Trans-Mongolian Railway is a crucial transportation link in Mongolia, connecting it to Russia and China. This railway, officially known as the Ulaanbaatar Railway, runs north-south through the country's center. It is the shortest overland route between Moscow and Beijing.1

The railway was built as a joint venture between Mongolia and the Soviet Union, utilizing the Russian broad-gauge track width. The northern section, completed in 1949, runs from the Russian border to Ulaanbaatar, passing through cities like Darkhan. Branch lines serve the Erdenet copper mine and Sharyn Gol coal mines. The southern section, completed in 1955, extends from Ulaanbaatar to Zamyn-Üüd on the Chinese border, where the track gauge is changed to China's standard gauge.1

While the railways carry the majority of Mongolia's freight, roads handle most of the remaining freight and nearly all passenger transport. Roads connecting Ulaanbaatar to nearby provincial centers and the Russian border are paved, but elsewhere, they are unpaved dirt tracks. Efforts are underway to construct a major highway connecting Ulaanbaatar with Mongolia's eastern and western border crossings.1