Trans-Asian Railway
Also called: Trans-Asiatic Railway · Topic: World Transport and Communication · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 7 "Transport and Communication"
Meaning
The Trans-Asian Railway is a planned rail link across Asia. NCERT describes it as a proposed line from Istanbul to Bangkok through Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Beyond NCERT, the UN ESCAP Trans-Asian Railway Network Agreement (2006) plans a wider network linking Europe and Asia, and India is a party to it. Progress is slow because of gauge breaks and politics. A gauge break is a border where the distance between the rails changes, so trains cannot run straight through.
Example
Under the plan, India's railways would link westward through Pakistan to Iran and Turkey, and eastward through Bangladesh and Myanmar to Thailand. India uses broad gauge (1.676 m), while some neighbours use other gauges.
Don't confuse with
- Trans-Siberian Railway: a working line, finished in 1916, that crosses Russia from St Petersburg and Moscow to Vladivostok. The Trans-Asian Railway is still mostly a plan.
Related concepts
- Trans-continental railway
- Trans-Siberian Railway
- Trans-Canadian Railway
- Union and Pacific Railway
- Australian Trans-Continental Railway
- Orient Express