DUSHANBE, April 23, 2013, Asia-Plus — Senior representatives from Tajik state railway company, Rohi Ohani Tojikiston (Tajik Railways), attribute the recent inspection by Russian officials of a Moscow-bound Tajik train and Russian officials’ proposal to suspend Tajik rail service to Russia to Russia’s desire for seizing Tajikistan’s rail service market.
Inspection of Tajik trains by high-ranking Russian state officials is one of ways of unhealthy competition in the transportation market.
Tajik Railways deputy head Usmon Qalandarov remarked this at a meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Transport that took place on April 16.
“Russia today owns 80 percent of Kyrgyzstan’s rail service market and 50 percent of Azerbaijan’s rail service market,” said
According to him, if Russia succeeds in realizing its plans, 500 employees of Tajik Railways will be left without jobs.
We will recall that Russian officials have threatened to ban trains from Tajikistan, complaining that sleeper trains heading to Moscow from the country are unacceptably dirty and pose a health risk. The border service also expressed concerns over rampant drug smuggling.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, whose portfolio includes defense, ostentatiously toured a Moscow-bound Tajik train on April 14 and declared it unfit for carrying humans. Rogozin also suggested that Tajiks could be subject to new passport restrictions.
Russia”s chief sanitary doctor Gennady Onishchenko told Russian media about the health “risks” of the trains.
Russian border service has proposed to suspend Tajik rail service to Russia altogether. Russian border service chief Vladimir Mochalov noted on April 15 that “The Ministry of Transport of Russia along with Russian Railways proposed to submit to the Council for Rail Transport of the CIS countries a document aimed at suspending rail links with the Republic of Tajikistan in the existing form in order to address the revealed shortcomings.”
