DUSHANBE, April 15, 2009, Asia-Plus — Over the first three months of this years, Tajik Railways has carried more than 182,000 passengers, which is more than 40,000 passengers fewer than in the same period of 2008, the deputy head of Tajik Railways, Vladimir Sobkalov, announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on April 14.
Over the report period, Tajik Railways has hipped 3.432 million tons of cargo, which is 243,000 tons more than n January-March 2008.
The country’s rolling-stock currently includes 2,800 cargo cars, 354 passenger carriages and 56 diesel locomotives. Over the first quarter of this year, Tajik Railways has repaired 12 passenger carriages and 27.17 kilometers of railroads, Sobkalov said.
Over the report period, they have purchased 10 new cargo cars and negotiations on purchasing locomotive from China are under way, according to the railway official.
At present Tajik Railways offers three routes to the Russian Federation (Dushanbe-Moscow, Kulob-Moscow, Khujand-Saratov) and four domestic routes (Dushanbe-Konibodom, Qurghon Teppa-Konibodom, Dushanbe-Pakhtaobod and Qurghon Teppa-Kulob). The total length of rails in Tajikistan is 950 kilometers; of that, 680 kilometers are the main railways. At present there are 31 railway stations in the republic.
