Eurasian Land Bridge

Railway bridge on the Trans-Siberian across the Kama River near Perm.

The Eurasian Land Bridge, sometimes called the New Silk Road, is a term used to describe the rail transport route for moving freight and passengers overland from Pacific seaports in Siberia and China to seaports in Europe. The route, a transcontinental railroad and rail land bridge, currently comprises the Trans-Siberian Railway, which runs through Russia and is sometimes called the Northern East-West Corridor and the New Eurasian Land Bridge or Second Eurasian Continental Bridge, running through China and Kazakhstan. As of November 2007, about 1% of the $600 billion in goods shipped from Asia to Europe each year were delivered by inland transport routes.^[1]

Completed in 1916, the Trans-Siberian connects Moscow with Russian Pacific seaports such as Vladivostok. From the 1960s until the early 1990s the railway served as the primary land bridge between Asia and Europe, until several factors caused the use of the railway for transcontinental freight to dwindle. One factor is that the railways of the former Soviet Union (USSR) use a wider rail gauge than most of the rest of Europe and China. Recently, however, the Trans-Siberian has regained ground as a viable land route between the two continents.

China's rail system had long linked to the Trans-Siberian via northeastern China and Mongolia. In 1990 China added a link between its rail system and the Trans-Siberian via Kazakhstan. China calls its uninterrupted rail link between the Chinese port city of Lianyungang and Kazakhstan the New Eurasian Land Bridge or Second Eurasian Continental Bridge. In addition to Kazakhstan, the railways connect with other countries in Central Asia, including Iran, but do not connect all the way to Europe through south Asia.

Proposed expansion of the Eurasian Land Bridge includes construction of a railway across Kazakhstan that is the same gauge as Chinese railways, rail links to India, Burma, Thailand and Malaysia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, construction of a rail tunnel and highway bridge across the Bering Strait to connect the Trans-Siberian to the North American rail system, and construction of a rail tunnel between Korea and Japan. The United Nations has proposed further expansion of the Eurasian Land Bridge, including the Trans-Asian Railway project.

History

Silk Road trading routes during the 1st century CE

Commercial traffic between Europe and Asia took place along the Silk Road from at least the 2nd millennium BCE. The Silk Road was not a specific thoroughfare, but a general route used by traders to travel, much of it by land, between the two continents along the Eurasian Steppes through Central Asia. The 5,000 miles (8,000 km) long route was used to exchange goods, ideas and people primarily between China and India and the Mediterranean and helped create a single-world system of trade between the civilisations of Europe and Asia.^[2]

Exports from Asia transported along the Silk Road included fabrics, carpets, furs, weapons, utensils, metals, farm produce, livestock and slaves. Civilisations active in trading during the road's history included Scythia, Ancient and Byzantine Greece, the Han and Tang dynasties, Parthia, Rouran, Sogdiana, Göktürks, Xiongnu, Yuezhi and the Mongol Empire.^[3]

Beginning in the 5th century CE, new land routes between Asia and Europe developed further to the north, in the Rus'. Many of these routes passed through Yugra and extended to the Baltic region. The Khazars, Volga Bulgaria, and the Rus' Khaganate were active in trading along the northern trade routes.^[3]

Traffic along the southern Silk Road routes greatly diminished with the Fall of Constantinople in the 15th century and development of the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope in the 16th century. By the 18th century, European influence on trade and new national boundaries severely restricted the movement of traders along all land routes between Europe and China, and overland trade between East Asia and Europe virtually disappeared.^[2]

Trans-Siberian Railway

Main article: Trans-Siberian Railway

The Trans-Siberian Railway and its various associated branches and supporting lines, completed in 1916, established the first rail connection between Europe and Asia, from Moscow to Vladivostok. The line, at 9,200 kilometres (5,720 mi), is the longest rail line in the world.^[4]

Map of the Trans-Siberian (red) and Baikal-Amur (green) Railways

The Trans-Siberian connects the Russian Pacific ports of Vladivostok and Nakhodka with Moscow. Rail links at Moscow allow passengers and freight to connect to train lines running further west into Europe. By making further transfers, passengers and freight can eventually reach Western European seaports.^[5] The Trans-Siberian also connects with North Korea (e.g. via Dandong in Northeastern China, or directly at Khasan south of Vladivostok).^[6][7]

A fully electrified and double-tracked line, the Trans-Siberian Railway line is capable of transporting around 100 million tons of freight annually. The line can handle up to 200,000 TEU of containerized international transit freight per year.^[8]

A more northerly east-west route across Siberia, parallel to the Trans-Siberian line and known as the Baykal-Amur Mainline was mostly completed in 1989. It terminates at the Pacific ports of Vanino and Sovetskaya Gavan. Although this line is comparatively little used (the management mentions 6 million tons of freight per year, not indicating the year), the management expects the line to be fully used in the foreseeable future for oil and copper ore export, and has plans to double-track it.^[9]

While the Trans-Siberian has always been used by the Czarist, Soviet and modern Russian government to project political power into their territories in Asia, in the 1960s it was opened by the USSR as an international trade route connecting the Western Pacific with Europe. Freight shipments on the Trans-Siberian, however, experienced increasing problems over time with dilapidated rail infrastructures, theft, damaged freight, late trains, inflated freight fees, uncertain scheduling for return of containers and geopolitical tension. As a result, use of the railway for international trade declined to almost zero by the 1990s.^[10]

According to Hofstra University, as of 2001 there was renewed interest in using the Trans-Siberian as a route across Asia to Europe. An advantage of the Trans-Siberian route over the China-Central Asian railway route (detailed below) is that trains must change bogies only once, at the borders of the former USSR.^[11] Also, the Trans-Siberian links directly to railways which ultimately connect, via Finland and Sweden to the year-round ice-free port of Narvik in Norway. At Narvik, freight can be transshipped to ships to cross the Atlantic to North America. Total transit time between Vladivostok and New York using this route is reportedly 10 days.^{[citation needed]} Rail links from Russia also connect to Rotterdam, but may encounter greater congestion along this route with resulting delays. The trade route between the east coast of North America and eastern Russia using the Trans-Siberian is often called the Northern East West Freight Corridor.^[12]

In an effort to attract use of the Trans-Siberian to transport goods from Japan, China, and Korea to Europe, in the mid-1990s Russia lowered tariffs on freight using the railway. As a result, freight volume over the rail line doubled in 1999 and 2000.^[13]

In February and March 2011, Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism sponsored a test of the route by shipping roof tiles to Europe via the Trans-Siberian. The tiles were transported by ship from Hamada, Shimane to Vladivostok, then by the railway to Moscow. The transit time was expected to be 30 days, in comparison with the 50 days on average it takes to ship cargo by ship from Hamada to ports in western Russia. If successful, the ministry would use the results of the test to encourage other Japanese companies to utilize the Trans-Siberian over the sea route.^[14]

China and the land bridge

Direct connections between Russia and China

Manzhouli, China's oldest and busiest rail gate to Russia

The original Moscow-Vladivostok route, completed in 1904, cut across China's northeastern provinces, known in the west as Manchuria; the section of the railway located within China was known as the Chinese Eastern Railway. While the more northerly Trans-Siberian route, located entirely on Russian soil, was completed in 1916, the former Chinese Eastern Railway route continues as an important connector between the two countries' railway networks.^[15]

The western border point (Zabaykalsk/Manchouli) and the line connecting it to the Trans-Siberian main line, are now being upgraded, with the goal of enabling the railway by 2010 to pass 30 freight trains in each direction across the border, each one up to 71 cars long. The cross-border freight volume at this rail crossing is expected to reach 25.5 million tons by 2010.^[16] Besides cargo (principally, Russian oil exported to China), this crossing sees a direct weekly passenger train, Moscow-Beijing, as well as some local passenger trains.^[17] The eastern border point of the former Chinese Eastern Railway, at Suifenhe/Grodekovo, sees significant use as well, with over 8 million tons of freight crossing the border there in 2007,^[18] and regular cross-border passenger service.^[19]

The third, little known and even less used, rail connection between Russia and China two countries was built farther south, between Hunchun and Russian Makhalino (a station on the Ussuriysk-Khasan-North Korean border line, 41 km (25 mi) before Khasan). It began operating in February 2000,^[20] and saw only a minor amount of traffic (678 railcars of lumber) over the next two years. The line was closed in 2002-2003, briefly reopened in 2003, and closed again in September 2004.^[21] On 15 February 2011, the two companies who own the line, Northeast Asia Railway Group, a Chinese company, and JSC Golden Link, a Russian company, signed an agreement to resume operations on the line in May 2011.^[22]

In November 2008, the transport ministries of Russia and the China signed an agreement about creating one more link between the railway systems of the two countries. It will involve a railway bridge between across the Heilongjiang (Amur) River, connecting Tongjiang in China's Jiamusi prefecture with Nizhneleninskoye in Russia's Jewish Autonomous Oblast.^[23][24] On 4 November 2010, the project director, Wang Jin, told Xinhua News Agency that construction on the bridge would begin in January 2011.^[25]

Russia to China via Mongolia

The Trans-Mongolian line, connecting Ulan-Ude on the Trans-Siberian with China's Erenhot via the Mongolian capital Ulan Baator, both serves as landlocked Mongolia's lifeline to the outside world, and the shortest connection between the Trans-Siberian Railway and Beijing. This line's capacity, however, is limited by its being single-track.^[26]

Kazakhstan to China

Terminus of the Lanxin railway at Alataw Pass where the Chinese rail system connects with that of Kazakhstan at Dostyk.

While the USSR had long been connected with China via the rail links in Northeastern China and Mongolia, since the 1950s plans existed to connect the two countries' rail networks at the Kazakhstan/Xinjiang border. The Soviets completed their line from Aktogay (a station on the Turksib in eastern Kazakhstan) to their border station Druzhba (now Dostyk), but the construction on the Chinese side stopped because of the Sino-Soviet split of the 1960s. In 1985 construction commenced on the Northern Xinjiang Railway to link the Chinese and Russian rail networks via Kazakhstan. The section between Ürümqi and Alashankou was completed on September 16, 1990, linking the railway lines of the two countries at Dostyk. In July 1991 the first goods train traveled along the line from China to Kazakhstan's then-capital of Almaty.^[27] In December 2009, a second rail link from China was built to the Kazakhstan border at Khorgos. The Jinghe-Yining-Horgos Railway forks off of the Northern Xinjiang Railway at Jinghe and approaches Kazakhstan from the Ili River Valley. A rail link on Kazakh side will extend the line to Saryozek by 2013.^[28]

Because Kazakhstan was once a member of the USSR, its rail system connects with and carries the same rail gauge as the Russian rail system, as well as the other Central Asian republics of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.^[29]

From Kazakhstan, four major north-south railways connect with the Russian rail system. Two connect with the Trans-Siberian Railway (the Turksib and the Shu-Astana-Petropavl meridional line) while the other two (the Trans-Aral Railway, and the connection via Atyrau and Astrakhan Oblast) go directly to European Russia. These links to the Russian rail system are sometimes called the Eurasian Railway.^[30]

Through service between China and Western Europe

See also: Trans-Eurasia Logistics

In January 2008 China and Germany inaugurated a long distance freight train service between Beijing and Hamburg. Travelling a total of 10,000 kilometres (6,210 mi), the train uses the China Railways and the Trans-Mongolian line to travel from Xiangtan (in Hunan Province) to Ulan Bator, where it then continues north to the Trans-Siberian. After reaching the end of the Trans-Siberian at Moscow the train continues to Germany via rail links in Belarus and Poland. Total transit time is 15 days, as compared with the 30 days average it would take for the freight to make the same journey by ship. The first train of 50 containers, carrying a mixed load of clothes, ceramics and electronics (for the Fujitsu company), travelled on tracks operated by six different railways.^[31][32]

Hartmut Mehdorn, chairman of Deutsche Bahn (DB), stated in March 2008 that regularly scheduled, weekly China-Germany freight services should be in operation by 2010.^[33] In April 2009, however, DB postponed the service indefinitely because of the global economic crisis.^[34]

Another test run, from Chongqing to Duisburg via Alashankou crossing, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, and Poland took place in March–April 2011, covering 10,300 km (6,400 mi) in 16 days. It was again said by DB that if there is enough demand, the service can be made regular already in 2011,^[35][36]

New Eurasian Land Bridge

Main article: New Eurasian Land Bridge

The New Eurasian Land Bridge, also called the New Eurasian Continental Bridge, is the name given to China's rail link with Central Asia. The route includes China's east-west railways which, in addition to the Beijiang line, are the Longhai Railway and the Lanxin railway. Together, the railways create an uninterrupted rail link between the port city of Lianyungang and Kazakhstan. In 1995 the Chinese and Kazakhstan governments signed an agreement which allows the latter to use Lianyungang as its primary seaport for exports and imports.^[37] China intends for Lianyungang to serve as the designated starting point for the New Eurasian Land Bridge.^[38]

From Almaty in Kazakhstan, the railway extends to Tashkent and Samarkand, Uzbekistan and then to Tejen, Turkmenistan. From Tejen, another line continues to Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. After Ashgabat, the line ends at Türkmenbaşy, Turkmenistan, a port on the Caspian Sea.^[39]

In 1996 a branch railway from Tejen was constructed across the border with Iran (at Serakhs) and linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways. The link potentially enables rail freight from China to reach ports on the Persian Gulf and via other train lines, to reach into the Caucasus and Turkey.^[40] The central Asian route, however, does not extend all the way into Europe. There is no rail link yet across the Bosphorus though the Marmaray link is being built and is expected to be completed in 2012.^[41] Iranian rail lines use 1,435mm (4 ft 8½ in) gauge, requiring freight cars transiting from China into Iran to change wheel gauges twice. The train ferry across Lake Van is also a capacity restriction.^[39]

Chinese state media claims that the New Eurasian Land/Continental Bridge extends from Lianyungang to Rotterdam, a distance of 11,870 kilometres (7,380 mi). The exact route used to connect the two cities, whether through Mongolia or Kazakhstan, however, is unclear.^[42]

Break of gauge issues

Changing wheelsets at the Sino-Mongolian border

Former countries of the USSR, as well as Mongolia, use a track gauge of 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 ⁵⁄₆ in). The international standard rail gauge used in most of Europe and China is 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in). As a result, trains cannot run from China or European countries into or out of the former USSR without changing bogies. Large facilities to carry out this procedure exist at most border crossing between the "Russian" and "standard" gauge territories (e.g., at Zabaykalsk^[17] or Erenhot)^[43] Changing the bogies on a rail car takes hours and special, heavy equipment. In many cases (especially, containerized freight), freight is transshipped from one train to another instead of changing the bogies. In the case of liquids, frozen goods and hazardous materials, however, the bogies are usually changed.^[44]

It has been suggested that on some lines variable gauge axles would achieve significant time savings in comparison to bogie exchange. Their implementation however would involve a much higher capital cost, requiring either retrofitting or replacement of existing bogies.^[45]

Proposed development

Expansion projects

See also: Trans-Asian Railway, Kunming-Singapore Railway, and Japan–Korea Undersea Tunnel

China's rail system. The link with Kazakhstan is at the upper left corner of the map.

On March 10, 2004 the Kazakhstan Railway Company Ltd announced that it was looking for investors to fund the construction of a railway stretching 3,083 kilometres (1,920 mi) from China across Kazakhstan to Caspian Sea that would be the same gauge as Chinese railways. Thus, the railway would allow trains from China to cross Kazakhstan without having to change bogies. The reported construction cost of the new railway was $3.5 billion. Chinese media reported that the railway would complete the link between China and Europe via central Asia, but it is unclear where the actual link to Europe would be. Also unclear is whether construction has yet to begin on the project.^[46]

The governments of India and Burma have proposed building, with China's cooperation, a link to the Eurasian Land Bridge that would start in India or Burma and connect to China's rail system in Yunnan. The route would allow freight from India and Burma to travel overland to Europe. The link would also give rail access for China to the Indian Ocean. One proposed starting point for the route is Kyaukpyu. The governments of Thailand and Malaysia are also studying the feasibility of establishing rail links with China.^[47]

Both Russia and China are seeking to establish a permanent rail link with South Korea by way of North Korea to allow South Korean goods to be shipped to Europe via the Eurasian Land Bridge. According to Choi Yeon-Hye, a professor of marketing and management at the Korea National Railway College, a rail connection from Busan to Rotterdam would cut shipping time from 26 to 16 days and save $800 per container of freight.^[48] As part of its plan to link the Trans-Siberian to North and South Korea, Russia rebuilt its railink from Khasan to Rajin, finishing in October 2011.^[49][50]

The South Korean government announced on December 2, 2009 that it would conduct an economic and technical study on the feasibility of constructing undersea tunnels for transporting goods and people to and from the country directly to Kyushu, Japan and Shandong, China.^[51]

The United Nations Development Programme has advocated greater regional integration along the Eurasian Land Bridge, including development of rail links between the countries of South and Southeast Asia and Central Asia, called the Trans-Asian Railway project.^[52] Chinese leaders have called for the establishment of free trade zones at both ends of the Eurasian Land Bridge to facilitate development.^[53] Said Khalid Malik, United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, "If this comes true, it will enable the continental bridge to play its due role in enhancing co-operation between Asia and Europe, and promoting world peace and development."^[54]

In 2010 and 2011, China announced plans to finance expansion of the rail systems in Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Vietanam and connect them to China's rail system via Kunming. The plans include construction of a high-speed rail line from Kunming to Vientiane, beginning in April 2011, with a possible future extension to Bangkok.^[55]

Bering Strait link

For more details on this topic, see Bering Strait crossing.

Possible route of a bridge or tunnel across the Bering Strait.

In April 2007 the Russian government announced that it was considering building a double track broad gauge rail tunnel under the Bering Strait between Chukotka and Alaska. The tunnel, as projected, would be 60 miles (100 km) long and would include oil and gas pipelines, fiber optic cables and power lines.^[56] The tunnel project was estimated to cost $65 billion and take 15–20 years to build. In addition to the Russian government, sponsors of the project apparently include Transneft and RAO United Energy Systems.^[57]

The project, as envisioned, would connect the Trans-Siberian via Komsomolsk-on-Amur/Yakutsk in Siberian Russia with the North American rail network (gauge to be widened) at Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada, a distance of 3,700 miles (5,950 km). A significant hurdle for the project is that the nearest major road to the Russian end of the tunnel is 1,000 miles (1,610 km) away. In addition, Alaska has no direct rail link to either Canada or the contiguous United States.^[58] Other leaders, including Wally Hickel, the 14th Dalai Lama, Lyndon LaRouche and Sun Myung Moon have also advocated the construction of a tunnel or bridge across the strait.^[59]

High speed rail

It was reported in the press in March 2007 that China intends to build a high speed rail link between China and Western Europe^{[60][61][62][63]} with the possibility of a high speed rail journey from Beijing to London taking just two days.^[64][65]

In February 2011, the Chinese government announced that it would jointly sponsor the construction of a high-speed rail line between Astana and Almaty in Kazakhstan. The announced completion date was 2015.^[66]

Notes

1. ^ Berk.
2. ^ ^{a b} Christian; Ōtsuka, p. 42.
3. ^ ^{a b} Christian.
4. ^ Rodrigue; Wehrfritz.
5. ^ Ōtsuka, pp. 48–49.
6. ^ Hisako Tsuji, p. 13
7. ^ Trans-Korean Main Line (At the official Russian Railways site)
8. ^ Transsiberian Railway (At the Russian Railways official site)
9. ^ Baikal - Amur Main Line (At the Russian Railways official site)
10. ^ Rodrigue, Ōtsuka, p. 49; Wehrfritz.
11. ^ Ōtsuka, p. 49.
12. ^ Rodrigue.
13. ^ Wehrfritz.
14. ^ Kyodo News, "Land, sea routes to Russia tested", Japan Times, 1 March 2011, p. 7.
15. ^ Guide to the Photograph Album of the Chinese Eastern Railway
16. ^ Забайкальская железная дорога | Инвестиционный проект "Южный ход" | Общие сведения (Transbaikal Railway: The Southern Branch investment project: General information) (Not dated, but appear to be written ca. 2005) (Russian)
17. ^ ^{a b} Реконструкция пункта перестановки вагонов: В круглосуточном режиме на станции Забайкальск Забайкальской железной дороги ведется реконструкция пункта перестановки пассажирских вагонов ("Reconstruction of the bogie exchange facility: workers at Zabaykalsk Station of the Transbaikalian Railway are working round the clock, renovating the passenger railcar bogie exchange facility"). (Transbaikalian Railway official web site, 2008-06-08 (Russian)
18. ^ Primorye Export to China Increased: Mainly timber and fertilizers are exported (Vladivostok Times, December 5, 2007); the article reported over 8 million tons over the first 11 months of 2007
19. ^ Russian train schedules site. One can search e.g. by entering "Grodekovo" as a station name, obtaining results like this: http://www.poezda.net/en/station_timetable?st_code=2034464&forDate=08-12-2009 There are apparently 4 round-trips across the border every week, two by a local Grodekovo-Suifenhe shuttle, and two by an express train from Harbin to Khabarovsk/Vladivostok. (The through trains from Khabarovsk and Vladivostok may in reality be just single cars, or groups of cars, attached to a train terminating in Grodekovo, and then passed on to the Chinese railways.)
20. ^ Kawamura, Kazumi. "Nine Transportation Corridors in Northeast Asia and Their Discontinuous Points". The Economic Research Institute for Northeast Asia. http://www.erina.or.jp/en/Ec/Forum2001/Session1/eKawamura.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-09. 
21. ^ Пустой коридор ("An empty corridor") Dalnevostochny Kapital, No.7, July 2004. (Russian)
22. ^ Xinhua, "Railway Linking NE China, Russia To Resume Operation In May", 23 February 2011.
23. ^ "Строительство первого железнодорожного моста соединяющего Китай и Россию начнется в 2009 году" (Construction of the first railway bridge connecting Russia and China will start in 2009) China.org.cn, 2008-11-27. (Russian)
24. ^ [1] (This is somewhat obsolete by now)
25. ^ Xinhua News Agency, "Sino-Russian cross-border railway bridge to be built", China Internet Information Center, 7 November 2010.
26. ^ Economist Intelligence Unit; Hisako Tsuji, A competitive environment for linking the TSR & TKR. P. 9
27. ^ Ōtsuka, pp. 42–43.
28. ^ (Chinese) "精伊霍铁路打破交通瓶颈 助推新疆伊犁经济发展" 2010-07-06
29. ^ Ōtsuka, pp. 42–43, 48.
30. ^ Ōtsuka, pp. 45–46.
31. ^ Rodrigue; International Railway Journal; Underhill; Batbayar.
32. ^ Jonas M. Helseth The N.E.W. Corridor and the Northern Axis (Master's Thesis, University of Turku). Page 31, and the map on p. 32.
33. ^ International Railway Journal.
34. ^ Batbayar.
35. ^ Deutsche Bahn plant regelmäßigen Güterverkehr nach China, 2011-04-06
36. ^ DB freight train arrives from China into Duisburg after 10,300 km (6,400 mi) journey
37. ^ China Daily, Ōtsuka, pp. 42–43.
38. ^ Ren.
39. ^ ^{a b} Ōtsuka, p. 44.
40. ^ Ōtsuka, pp. 42, 44; Mirak-Weissbach.
41. ^ Ōtsuka, pp. 42, 44.
42. ^ Xinhua, "NW China mulls 'New Silk Road' exhibition park".
43. ^ Rolf Potts, "Horse races, open spaces and the fate of Genghis Khan's balls". Salon Magazine, 1999-11-09. Quote: "a set of huge hydraulic cranes at the Sino-Mongolian border that lifted each train-car off the ground as the wheels (wheelsets) were changed to fit the new track-gauge"
44. ^ China Daily; Ōtsuka, p. 48; Rodrigue.
45. ^ United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, "Development of the Trans-Asian Railway", pp. 56-58
46. ^ China Daily.
47. ^ Wehrfritz; The Statesman; Xinhua, "Experts propose developing SW corridor of third Asia-Europe land-bridge".
48. ^ Wehrfritz; Funabashi.
49. ^ Yonhap, "Russia to test railway to N. Korea next month: report" alternate link), 15 September 2011.
50. ^ NHK World, "Russia, N. Korea Complete Railway Renovation Work", 14 October 2011.
51. ^ Kyodo; Wehrfritz also describes a proposal to construct a rail tunnel from Busan to Japan in order to provide access for Japanese trains to the Trans-Siberian Railway. Wehrfriz, however, does not mention any involvement in the proposal by the Korean government, stating simply, "Some have proposed extending the line with a tunnel linking the South Korean port of Pusan to Japan."
52. ^ Xinhua, "China northwest city to host UN meet on Eurasia continental bridge 29 June to 4 July"; Islam.
53. ^ Xinhua, "China: Congress deputies propose free trade zones along continental bridge".
54. ^ Fu.
55. ^ The Economist, "China coming down the tracks", 22 January 2011, pp. 49-50.
56. ^ Blomfield.
57. ^ Hearst; Associated Press, "Bering Strait tunnel proposed".
58. ^ Blomfield; Hearst.
59. ^ Nicholson; DiBenedetto; Church & State; Sciacca; Virginian-Pilot; Qazwini.
60. ^ China's Railway Calls for High-Speed Diplomacy
61. ^ DVICE - China plans massive high-speed train network across Asia and Europe
62. ^ the Atlantic - China's 16,000-Mile, 17-Nation Railroad Faces Bumpy Ride
63. ^ Business Week - China Explores Rail Routes to Europe
64. ^ Mail Online - 'New Orient Express' fast train could get travellers to Beijing from London in TWO days
65. ^ Daily Telegraph - King's Cross to Beijing in two days on new high-speed rail network
66. ^ An Lu (Xinhua), "Vice premier: high-speed railway project, new highlight of Sino-Kazakh co-op", The Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, 22 February 2011; retrieved 25 February 2011.

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• Xinhua News Agency (March 11, 2004). "China: Congress deputies propose free trade zones along continental bridge". BBC Monitoring. 

Web

• China Daily (March 18, 2004). "New railway linking China, Europe to be built" (Newspaper article). Communist Party of China. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-03/18/content_315973.htm. Retrieved November 11, 2009. 
• Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. "Development of The Trans-Asian Railway; Trans-Asian railway in the north-south corridor; Northern Europe to the Persian Gulf". United Nations. pp. 56–58. http://www.unescap.org/ttdw/Publications/TIS_pubs/tarns-fulltext_2182.pdf. Retrieved November 26, 2009. 
• Islam, Zahedul (November 7, 2006). "Trans-Asia Railway Network Agreement: Dhaka fails to sign deal for lack of cabinet approval" (Newspaper article). New Age. World Prout Assembly. http://www.worldproutassembly.org/archives/2006/11/transasia_railw.html. Retrieved November 21, 2009. 
• Kyodo News (December 3, 2009). "South Korea to study undersea tunnel to Kyushu" (Newspaper article). Japan Times. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20091203f2.html. Retrieved December 8, 2009. 
• Ōtsuka, Shigeru (September 2001). "Central Asia's Rail Network and the Eurasian Land Bridge" (Journal article). Japan Railway and Transport Review. East Japan Railway Culture Foundation. http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr28/pdf/f42_ots.pdf. Retrieved November 11, 2009. 
• Qazwini, Iqbal (January 23, 2003). "Major International Crises Need a Giant Project to Overcome Them" (Google translation of an Arabic newspaper article). Asharq Al-Awsat. H.H. Saudi Research & Marketing (UK) Ltd.. http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http://www.aawsat.com/leader.asp%3Fsection%3D3%26issueno%3D8822%26article%3D148496. Retrieved November 11, 2009. 
• Rodrigue, Jean-Paul (1998-2009). "The Northern East-West Freight Corridor (Eurasian Landbridge)". The Geography of Transport Systems. Department of Global Studies & Geography, Hofstra University. http://www.people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch5en/conc5en/NEW_Corridor_Freight.html. Retrieved November 11, 2009. 
• Washington Times (June 25, 2005). "Bering bridge idea to highlight rally". Unification Church. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/jun/25/20050625-104916-4523r/. Retrieved November 20, 2009. 

Further information

• Qi, Yong; Yan Wang (1991). "Analysis of Land Bridge Transportation" (Journal article). Chinese Geographical Science. Science Press. http://www.springerlink.com/content/u04284544712u78g/. Retrieved November 11, 2009. 
• Thuermer, Karen E. (February 12, 1995). "Sea-Land Makes Landbridge Rail Commitment to Former Soviet Union". HighBeam Research. Knight Ridder. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-16518747.html. Retrieved November 11, 2009.