Transport in Tajikistan 30115 218328144 2008-06-10T03:47:08Z Brybry26 3895440 Information and image on Chinese road building added; Highways, Airports updated using CIA World Factbook. [[Image:Fan Mountains 282.jpg|thumb]] Most of [[Tajikistan]]'s [[transportation]] system was built during the [[Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic|Soviet era]], and since that time the system has deteriorated badly because of insufficient investment and maintenance. Neither the [[Soviet]] system nor subsequently built infrastructure addressed the [[Geography_of_Tajikistan#Topography_and_drainage|topographical division]] between the northern and southern regions of the country. Beginning in 2005, a series of major transportation projects sought to rectify this problem. The first such project, the [[Anzob Tunnel]], was completed in 2006, providing a year-round road link from [[Dushanbe]] to northern Tajikistan. Air transport is considered unreliable.<ref name=cp>[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Tajikistan.pdf Tajikistan country profile]. [[Library of Congress]] [[Federal Research Division]] (January 2007). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the [[public domain]].''</ref> == Railways == The [[railroad]] system totals only 480 kilometers of track, all of it [[broad gauge]]. The system connects the main urban centers of western Tajikistan with points in neighboring [[Uzbekistan]] and [[Turkmenistan]]. In 2000 a new line connected the southern cities of [[Qurghonteppa]] and [[Kulob]]. Passenger transit through Tajikistan has been hindered by periodic failures of Tajik Railways to pay transit tariffs and by safety issues.<ref name=cp/> == [[Highway]]s == {{seealso|Pamir Highway}} [[Image:1229 chineseBridge1.jpg|thumb|right|Chinese workers build a bridge on the road between Dushanbe and Khujand]] Tajikistan has an estimated 30,000 kilometers of roads, nearly all of which were built before 1991. One main north-south artery runs across the mountains between the northwestern city of [[Khujand]] and Dushanbe. A second main artery runs east from Dushanbe to [[Khorog]] in the [[Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province]], then northeast across the mountains to the [[Kyrgyzstan|Kyrgyz]] city of [[Osh]]. Because the Khujand–Dushanbe route is closed in winter, the Anzob Tunnel was built to bypass the mountain crossing and open a route connecting [[Tashkent]] ([[Uzbekistan]]) and points north with [[Afghanistan]] and [[Pakistan]] to the south, via Tajikistan. China has invested approximately $720 million for infrastructure improvements in Tajikistan, including the rebuilding, widening and improvement of the road between Dushanbe and Khujand which as of August 2007 is proceeding using equipment, labor, and oversight from China.<ref> {{cite web |url=http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav080107a.shtml |title= TAJIKISTAN: A CHINESE ROAD TO THE FUTURE? |publisher=EURASIANET |accessdate=2008-06-09 }}</ref> In mid-2005 construction began on a bridge across the [[Panj River]] to [[Afghanistan]] which was funded by the [[United States]] and opened in August of 2007<ref name=CIA>CIA World Factbook. [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ti.html Tajikistan]</ref>, and plans called for construction of several other bridges ultimately connecting Tajikistan to warm-water ports to the south.<ref name=cp/> == Pipelines == Tajikistan’s 549 kilometers of gas pipeline bring [[natural gas]] from Uzbekistan to Dushanbe and transport gas between points in Uzbekistan across northwestern Tajikistan. Tajikistan also has 38 kilometers of oil pipeline.<ref name=cp/> == Ports and waterways == Tajikistan has no access to the sea and no navigable inland waterways.<ref name=cp/> == Airports == In 2007 Tajikistan had 26 airports, 18 of which had paved runways and two with runways longer than 3,000 meters.<ref name=CIA/> The largest airport, [[Dushanbe Airport|at Dushanbe]], has flights to only a few international destinations. Few flights connect Dushanbe with Tashkent, which is the nearest airport offering connections to major European destinations. The next-largest airports are at [[Khudzhand Airport|Khujand]] and [[Kulob Airport|Kulob]]. State-run [[Tajik Air]], whose safety record has been questionable, offers flights to other [[Central Asian]] countries, with the exception of Uzbekistan, and weekly flights to [[Germany]] and [[Russia]].<ref name=cp/> ==References== {{reflist}} {{Asia topic|Transport in}} [[Category:Tajikistan]] [[Category:Transport in Tajikistan]] [[it:Trasporti in Tagikistan]]