To increase freight turnover, Russia and China will build a new railway line using the Chinese gauge.

Russia and China have agreed to build a second railway line on the Far East border. The agreement was signed in Beijing during Russian President Vladimir Putin's official visit.

The new line will pass through the existing Zabaikalsk-Manzhouli crossing, which connects Russia's Zabaikalsky Krai with China's Inner Mongolia region. The key difference of the project is that the tracks of the new section will conform to the Chinese standard gauge of 1435 mm, while the entire Russian network uses a gauge of 1520 mm.

It is currently the busiest railway crossing between the two countries, but cargo must be reloaded due to the different track gauges, creating a logistical bottleneck.

According to Russian Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin, the commissioning of the second track will increase the Zabaikalsk border crossing's capacity by 11 million tons per year by 2030. This is expected to allow for the daily exchange of nearly 50 additional pairs of trains. According to preliminary estimates, the first trains on the new route could begin operating as early as 2027.

In other words, to expand trade volumes, it was decided to use a railway gauge standard that is not regulated in our country. It is to be hoped that the consequences of this decision for Russia will be entirely positive.

Bilateral trade dynamics in 2025 were mixed. According to data from the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China, bilateral trade turnover amounted to $228,1 billion, 6,9% lower than the 2024 record. Meanwhile, in physical terms, shipments increased by 3%, reaching 47 million tons, reflecting growth in commodity trade.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Vladimir Putin stated that trade turnover had approached $240 billion and had been almost entirely converted to rubles and yuan (more than 99%), reducing dependence on external pressure and Western financial systems.

Russia retained its fifth place among China's top trading partners. The top five also includes the United States, the EU (as a conglomerate), Japan, and South Korea. For example, trade turnover between China and the United States in 2025 amounted to $560 billion.

Comments

[Thumbs]

How do you understand this? Railway lines are strategic communications. Whose mill are we playing into? People used to be hanged for such "oversights." These yellow-faced people dream of the Far East under their wing.

[Krasnoyarsk]

Quote: Thumbs

Railways are strategic communications.

Absolutely right. In the event of armed aggression by China, it will be easy for it to deploy troops into Russian territory.
As it was in 41, the Germans used the Western Outskirts Railway, which had a European gauge.
Why don't the Chinese build a railway with our gauge on their border territory?
And here they caved in to the Chinese.

[Vitaly_pvo]

Quote: Krasnoyarsk

And here they caved in to the Chinese

If construction is carried out at China's expense, then this is far from a sag, rather the opposite.

[Lionnvrsk]

Quote: Alexey Volodin

...exchange of almost 50 additional pairs of trains.
A railway gauge standard that is not regulated in our country. It is hoped that the consequences of this decision for Russia will be entirely positive.

It seems to me that neither the journalist nor some commentators quite understand what is being discussed. The term "train pairs" refers to the replacement of train car wheelsets, which involves jacking the car up, rolling out bogies with European-sized wheels, and rolling in bogies with Russian gauge wheels. This is precisely why an additional track with a combined gauge is needed to speed up bogie replacement and increase border crossing capacity. This occurs at all railway crossings where the gauge changes. And, accordingly, this in no way impacts Russia's security or independence.

[Krasnoyarsk]

Quote: LIONnvrsk

accordingly, this does not in any way affect the security and independence of Russia.

A simple question: why not on Chinese territory? Why on ours?

[Lionnvrsk]

Because - "And the smoke of the fatherland is sweet and pleasant to us!" Will this answer be satisfactory?
What difference does it make to you where you change pairs, before or after the border? All the same, both before and after there are double-track railways of national standards for each country, in the territory through which they are laid.

[Ivan F]

"It seems to me that neither the journalist nor some of the commentators quite understand what's being discussed." You're the one who didn't understand. "The key difference in the project is that the tracks on the new section will comply with the Chinese gauge standard." The wheelsets won't be changed there. And 50 additional pairs of trains means 50 additional trains per day, in each direction.
So you were a bit mistaken about the "wheel pairs".

[Lionnvrsk]

"Blessed is he who believes, for he has warmth in this world!"
If you are so enlightened, then be so kind as to tell us the length of this "new section" and what it is needed for. And why? 50 additional steam Train, suddenly you become just - that's 50 additional trains per day

[Ivan F]

Someone already told you in the comments that it's 12 km long. But you find that as hard to understand as the idea of ​​a capacity of 50 pairs of trains per day.
Although, personally, you'd probably change bogies on freight trains to travel an extra 12 km. It seems like that's your level.

"Suddenly you only have 50 additional trains per day" - it's immediately obvious you're struggling to read and understand what's written. I wrote it specifically for you. And 50 additional pairs of trains means 50 additional trains per day, IN EACH DIRECTION. That's why a pair, no one says the capacity of a route is a certain number of trains there and back. They say a certain number of pairs. But you couldn't even grasp that.

Bottom line. You misunderstood the article, saw the familiar word "pair," made up your own story around it, tacking on the term "wheeled," and now you're pontificating and defending it. Even though the article clearly states "50 PAIRS OF TRAINS," and most importantly, the key difference in the project is that the tracks of the new section will comply with the Chinese 1435 mm gauge standard. But you apparently find it difficult to comprehend what's written. You know, the dream of reason begets monsters, so that's how you came up with your "wheeled pairs," even though the article says "pairs of trains."

[Lionnvrsk]

Quote: Ivan F

You didn't understand the article, saw a familiar word - a couple, made up your own story around it, attaching "wheeled" to it.

It's quite possible that it's stuck in a loop, it happens. What are these 12 km for? What will happen at Matsiyevskaya station? To increase the length of the cargo handling zone?

[Ivan F]

It happens

"Increase the length of the cargo handling zone?" You're right about that. They're expanding the cargo handling zone for their trains, and most importantly, they're increasing the number of Chinese trains that can enter it. That's why they're laying that second track.

"It is specified that this involves the construction of a second track with a 1435 mm gauge on the Zabaikalsk-Manchuria cross-border section. This will increase throughput by 11 million tons by 2030, or nearly 50 pairs of freight trains per day.

The Zabaikalsk-Manzhouli border crossing is the largest checkpoint on the Russian-Chinese border. Cargo is transferred there from Russian 1520-millimeter broad-gauge railcars to Chinese 1435-millimeter railcars and back.

[Lionnvrsk]

Well, now everything looks different. So, I was going down the wrong path earlier.
I apologize to everyone I've been criticizing.

[Alexander Rasmukhambetov]

Putin needs to export natural resources, so we will build, the Chinese are fools, the spirit of Beijing, and how did you expect to receive Chinese beads.

[T.A.V.]

Well, yeah, we're a third-world country. Let them do whatever they want on our land, as long as it's at someone else's expense. What the hell are you even saying?

[Vitaly_pvo]

Quote: T.A.V.

Let them do whatever they want on our land,

I wonder, what if a neighbor came to you and suggested doing something together, like installing a new intercom, a camera in the yard, or something else in the mutual interest. Would you tell him off, like, "I'm a real man and I'm not a beggar?"

[T.A.V.]

Don't confuse warm and soft. If my neighbor says, "Let's install an intercom," but I'm the only one with the key, naturally I'll send him away. The common interest is in China's interests. We're talking about the railway track gauge. If you don't understand what this means strategically for the country, there's no point in continuing the discussion.

[hrych]

Quote: Krasnoyarsk

In the event of armed aggression by China, it will be easy for it to transfer troops to Russian territory.

Not only will everyone survive to 30... only a few of the elderly will. And then other leaders will decide. And supplying resources to enemy powers won't be the paradigm of the new elite. I hope the current one doesn't have time to ruin Russia.

[Krasnoyarsk]

Quote: hrych

I hope the current one won't have time to ruin Russia.

You believe that the current government will allow a change of course with a change of power. It will bring in someone just as bad to replace it, if not worse.

[Piramidon]

Quote: Krasnoyarsk

In the event of armed aggression by China, it will be easy for it to transfer troops to Russian territory.

Don't panic. The tracks can be destroyed within a few hours. Breaking is easier than building.

[isv000]

Yeah, right. For five years now, everyone has been going to Kukuyev and hauling in all sorts of junk in commercial quantities...

[Zoldat_A]

Quote: isv000

For the fifth year running, anyone and everyone has been going to Kukuyev and hauling all sorts of junk there in commercial quantities...

Well, the issue of destroying Ukraine's rail logistics isn't just or primarily a military one. Rather, it's political. Or, more accurately, simply a monetary one. Not "economic," because it has nothing to do with the Russian economy. It's purely monetary—for a certain, very narrow circle of people.

And in general - don't rock the boat and don't shake the supports!

[isv000]

Quote: Zoldat_A

And in general - don't rock the boat and don't shake the supports!

I won't. But here's the rub: why is Akhmetov's coal business still operating in Russia?!

[Zoldat_A]

Quote: isv000

But here's the rub: why is Akhmetov's coal business still operating in Russia?!

If only someone could answer all our "whys"...
And here we are only asking them, and NAVIRHU is playing the old but reliable game "But the Tsar doesn't know!..."
I didn't even watch the latest Direct Line – for some reason, I was already sure what the audience would be asking about. I wasn't wrong. NOT A SINGLE one of those "why" questions was asked. And what was asked was nothing to worry the President about. The Kremlin Mustache and Instagram Fighter would have answered everything perfectly.

[Piramidon]

Quote: isv000

For the fifth year in a row, everyone and their dog has been skiing in Kukuyev.

What does Kukuyev have to do with this, if we're talking about Chinese railway lines on Russian territory? If any friction arises in relations with China, any "switchman" can quickly render this line unusable. A few charges, and we're there.

[isv000]

Quote: Piramidon

Piramidon (Stepan. Russia)

There was such a wonderful couple, Ceta and Mol...

[Nikolai Basalai]

The bridges are even faster, but they stand firm in some places

[Krasnoyarsk]

Quote: Nikolay Basalai

The bridges are even faster, but they stand firm in some places

Well, bridges across the Dnieper, for example, aren't so easy to destroy. "High-precision"—it's so "high-precision" that hitting a support... Well, only by luck. Besides, they were built according to Soviet designs precisely with the idea that they wouldn't be so easy to destroy.

[Piramidon]

Quote: Nikolay Basalai

The bridges are even faster, but they stand firm in some places

The explosives still need to be delivered to the bridges somehow. And this Chinese track is on our territory, within walking distance. Any sapper could disable it, if necessary.

[topol717]

Quote: Krasnoyarsk

Absolutely right. In the event of armed aggression by China, it will be easy for it to deploy troops into Russian territory.

He'll be able to move his troops a full 12 kilometers further. That's a mind-boggling amount. But excuse me, aren't other countries full of idiots who don't know how to prepare logistics if they need to change their track?

[Sergey3]

He will be able to move his troops further by as much as 12 km.

The article here is pointless. The issue is much broader and more global. Due to their geographical location, some northern Chinese territories are cut off from easy access to seaports. They want to build a port for transshipment of Chinese cargo in Russia and a direct rail link to China. The first stage is a transshipment station near the border in Russia.

[Serg koma]

Quote: Sergey3

They want to build a port for transshipment of Chinese cargo on the territory of the Russian Federation and a direct railway to China.

Zabaikalsk-Port Baikal
Have you considered a more direct, more cost-effective, faster (in terms of distance), and more infrastructure-ready route to a "port for transshipment of Chinese cargo on Russian territory"?

[NakedMan]

Quote: Krasnoyarsk

Absolutely right. In the event of armed aggression by China, it will be easy for it to deploy troops into Russian territory.

Since this became relevant, automobile transport has greatly expanded. And in any case, in terms of defense, nuclear weapons should be used, not railroad tracks.

[traveler 63]

Don't make a mountain out of a molehill! We've been trading with Europe for over 100 years, so what? Different gauges? It's nothing, they just swap bogies under the wagons at the checkpoints! That's all! Except for the locomotives, but even here, ours are on our side, and theirs are on the other side. As far as I'm concerned, this whole thing only has one purpose: to counter the rapprochement between Russia and China! And to achieve that, any means are good!

[topol717]

Quote: Thumbs

How do you understand this? Railways are strategic communications.

This story, dreamed up by someone long ago, has no basis in reality. Although it seems very plausible, it's as if the enemy won't be able to use our railway. In fact, that's not true. No one ever thought about that when building the railway, and no one thinks about that now.

[kosmozoo]

For such a "mistake" they used to hang people on a rope

It's the 21st century, drones are commonplace, and you're still sitting on an armored train.

[Zyablicev43]

I'm a resident of the Far East. We have absolutely nothing of our own... Everything has been Chinese for a long time now, from diapers to electronics... And you probably have the same, or almost the same... So, if the new line changes anything, it will only be in terms of quantity, and the devastation of our territories... It's all unfortunate and sad, but we can't do otherwise.

[Nastia makarova]

An officer's daughter from the Far East? 😂 In Europe and the US, too, all goods come from China.

[Zyablicev43]

It's simply heartbreaking to me—to be 100% dependent on every bolt and screw, every shirt and toilet paper. Meanwhile, in the taiga, Chinese technology is destroying every living thing, while Chinese rice, bred specifically for the Far East, is flourishing in the state farm fields. Are we still here?

[Nastia makarova]

A Russian screw for 100 rubles or a Chinese one for 30, which one will you take?

[Zyablicev43]

Japanese. Along with the car.

[Nastia makarova]

It will cost 120 rubles per screw.

[Rolaf]

1. To increase freight traffic in Russia, there is simply not enough rolling stock.
2. The cost of Chinese transportation is much lower than Russian.
3. China cannot even fulfill its plans for populating its northern regions.

[Michael]

Different track gauges in different countries—that's something that's long been solvable in peacetime. There are some logistical issues and a slight increase in freight costs. Although even on passenger trains, wheel sets are replaced without disturbing the passengers' sleep.
But in wartime, different tracks are an extra chance for defense.

[topol717]

Quote: Michael

But in wartime, different tracks are an extra chance for defense.

And why didn’t this help at all during WWII?

[Michael]

Quote from: topol717

And why didn’t this help at all during WWII?

Why, it helped. Here are the Germans destroying the railway during their retreat.
And they had to not just re-lay the track to the new gauge, but lay new sleepers and new rails. And at every step, there were mines, including those with delayed arming.

[topol717]

So why did the Germans destroy it if the different gauges were already a problem? Or was it not? Well, they could have destroyed the entire track, regardless of the gauge.

[Michael]

Quote from: topol717

And why did the Germans destroy them if the different track gauges were already a problem?

Different track gauges are a problem, but a destroyed track is a problem two orders of magnitude bigger.
But destroying the track requires time and considerable effort. And all the evacuation trains need to have already passed through to the rear. And the different gauges simply already exist.

[topol717]

Quote: Michael

the track is different, it just already exists.

Railroads are a logistical means of transporting a lot of things over long distances. The key word is "logistical." No one can seize even 50 kilometers of territory in a couple of days, let alone 100 or even 200. Railroads are capable of 300 kilometers or more.

[Michael]

Quote from: topol717

The key word is "rear." No one can seize even 50 kilometers of territory in a couple of days, let alone 100 or even 200.

During WWII, they could. It worked on both sides.
But only during the Great Patriotic War could partisan territories exist, when decisions were made at general meetings, at veche (meetings), and red flags were raised over village councils. And people chose to live by Soviet laws and fight to the death against the occupiers.

[topol717]

50 km in a day? Overcome and gain a foothold? During WWII, it was rare for a tank to travel that distance without breaking down.

[Michael]

Quote from: topol717

50 km in a day? Overcome and gain a foothold? During WWII, it was rare for a tank to travel that distance without breaking down.

Are we really not going to believe Guderian?
"Four kilometers north of Sevsk, which was already in our hands, I met Colonel Eberbach, the brave commander of a tank brigade of the 4th Panzer Division. When I asked him if he was able to continue the offensive to Dmitrovsk (Dmitrovsk-Orlovsky), he answered in the affirmative. Therefore, I ordered him to continue pursuing the enemy, although the generals had previously erroneously informed me that they were forced to halt the offensive due to a lack of fuel. During my conversation with Eberbach, Russian aircraft bombed the road along which our troops were moving, as well as the city of Sevsk. Then I went to the forward units of our tank units and expressed gratitude to the personnel of the unit commanded by Major Jungenfeldt. On the way back, I informed the corps commander of my order to continue the offensive. The forward units of the 24th Panzer Corps advanced 130 kilometers that day!"

[fruc]

....comply with the Chinese track gauge standard of 1435 mm, while the entire Russian network uses a width of 1520 mm.

In EU countries too, however, 1435 mm.

[Michael]

Quote: frruc

In EU countries too, however, 1435 mm.

Apparently, EU countries don't see China as an adversary or occupier. They're kind and cuddly.

[Gomunkul]

In EU countries it is also 1435 mm, however.

I admire the foresight of our political leadership. Apparently, the idea is to connect Europe and China with a common railway line in the future, so that China can freely transport its cargo to Europe using its own transport, and our government would simply charge a fee for the transportation.

[LASVEGAS]

Power of Siberia 2 hasn't been approved by China yet. And the trade flow could be called a raw materials flow, to be honest.

[Seaflanker]

The gas pipeline was approved: "They sell raw materials abroad – they're traitors!" The gas pipeline was not approved: "I don't care what the reasons are – they're still traitors!"

Russia has a huge trade surplus with China: "Russia is just China's gas station, the government is selling out the country!" China isn't selling us anything: "They're not our friends!" Russia has a trade deficit with China: "China is dumping on Russia, and the government has sold everything out again!"

[Thumbs]

To flood the market with raw materials and in exchange buy goods with high added value is the current government's obsession.

[topol717]

Quote: Thumbs

To flood the market with raw materials and in exchange buy goods with high added value is the current government's obsession.

Nobody needs raw materials in their raw form; even our oil requires little processing before sale. And no one buys raw materials in their original form. Any raw material requires primary processing—added value.

[Voyager-1]

It's funny that the Stephenson gauge will be used along the entire route, even on the Russian section. Could this really be the first sign of our railways converting to European standards? It sounds rather uninspiring...

[ZhEK-Vodogrey]

Quote: Voyager-1

Is this really the first sign of our railways converting to European standards? It sounds rather uninspiring...

In this way, they will carry out a negative expansion of the railway gauge, put an end to the legacy of tsarism, and the Far East may in the future go to China.

[ZnachWest]

Yeah )). But is it even possible? It's a plan for centuries.

[Vladimir M]

Everything is fine, well, or almost.
It is not clear why they are laying a 1435 mm track gauge across their territory.
some kind of "cuckoldry".

[PN]

As I understand it, this will be a transit line for the export of raw materials and nothing more.

[Vladimir M]

I hope this “no more” doesn’t become “more”.
So soon we will switch to a 1435 mm gauge throughout Siberia for the transportation of resources.
It seems like we're just a gas station for China...

[topol717]

Quote: Vladimir M

It is not clear why they are laying a 1435 mm track gauge across their territory.

Which line needs to be built? And who will build it, and at whose expense? And most importantly, what distance do they want to cover? If it's to the nearest junction, that makes sense.

[Vladimir M]

Why then not extend a Russian-sized track to the nearest junction station on Chinese territory?

[topol717]

Chinese companies using Chinese money? Especially since the Chinese likely already have a railway line to the border.

[Vladimir M]

Where does it say "to Chinese companies for Chinese money"?
Gazprom built Power of Siberia 1, while Power of Siberia 2 has so far only had a memorandum, and it's unclear at whose expense (a memorandum is nothing), and then there's silence...

[Ivan Mladic]

Everything is crystal clear. China will not give up its claims to the northern territories. It has never been and never will be an ally. It is an enemy far more formidable than the Anglo-Saxons, in every sense of the word.

[ZnachWest]

Absolutely. That's how I always write...

[Ivanhoe]

"This is the road to hell" Chris Rea

[Sebenza]

The days of shyness are long gone. You can now openly voice your desires.

[the same doctor]

To ensure equality, a similar section of track with our gauge should be built on the territory of the PRC.

[topol717]

Quote: also a doctor

To ensure equality, a similar section of track with our gauge should be built on the territory of the PRC.

You are ready to finance this out of your own pocket, aren't you?

[Gavrilo Princip]

And supply Russian cars along this route at Russian prices.

[Dart2027]

Moscow. May 20. INTERFAX.RU - Russia and China signed an agreement on joint railway construction, as well as a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in human resource development.
The agreement was signed on behalf of Russia by Russian Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin and Rosatom State Corporation CEO Alexey Likhachev. The signing took place during Russian President Vladimir Putin's official visit to Beijing, which he is paying at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The project concerns the construction of a second main track with a 1435 mm gauge on the cross-border section of the Zabaikalsk-Manchuria railway, the Russian Ministry of Transport explained to Interfax.

The length is approximately 12 kilometers.

[topol717]

Quote: Dart2027

The length is approximately 12 kilometers.

Come on, how can this be? A whole 12 kilometers through the deserted Taiga, and now China is using these 12 kilometers as a springboard for an attack on us.

[nPuBaTuP]

And here it seems to me that the most important thing is mentioned

Head of the Rosatom State Corporation

...we need to look further...

[Dinic]

And again this magical year 2030...

[solar]

Creeping annexation :((....

[awdrgy]

Stop selling non-renewable energy resources at the cost of their extraction. Salaries are important, but life is more valuable.

[ZnachWest]

Please duplicate this appeal on the website of the President of Russia.

[faterdom]

I read the comments and am surprised: gentlemen-comrades, if you don’t understand, well, reread the article again, it won’t help - a third time.
The line with a different gauge will not be built to replace ours, but rather as an addition, apparently implying the future use of Chinese rolling stock for transportation, which they are much better at.
Moreover, in our direction it is a millimeter, and the rest is in China.
Regarding troops—why would China need to send troops there? What would they do with them? When we ourselves supply them with practically all their resources, and if necessary, weapons as well, and not even for dollars, but for yuan.
Another question is that if we manage to the point where we have no population there at all, then what does it matter what and where China will transport goods across empty land, and on what track, and who will live there - we didn’t want to/couldn’t, did we?

[ZnachWest]

The struggle for habitat is a natural instinct. Therefore, wars are a natural state of humanity.

[Uma palata]

Different railway gauges are a guarantee of delaying a neighbor in case of tension. That's understandable. Why we now adapt to their gauge, and not they to ours, is also, alas, understandable.

[Skameri]

Quote: Krasnoyarsk

Quote: Thumbs

Railways are strategic communications.

Absolutely right. In the event of armed aggression by China, it will be easy for it to deploy troops into Russian territory.
As it was in 41, the Germans used the Western Outskirts Railway, which had a European gauge.
Why don't the Chinese build a railway with our gauge on their border territory?
And here they caved in to the Chinese.

My God, what kind of idiots are these? When countries are friends, they integrate, just imagine. And that's perfectly normal. China isn't going to take anything from us; they ban people for making such statements. Besides, it's in the far north, and the Chinese mostly live in the south, and they don't need that north. And who would attack a country with nuclear weapons?

[ZnachWest]

People are banned, but political cards are issued...

[nPuBaTuP]

Don't confuse China with Taiwan...although it seems to be the same...but not the same)))

[Andriuha077]

This is not even a road in the literal sense of the word, but an access road to the port for cargo transiting from China.

Total length of railways (Top 3 in the world)

USA: about 250,000 km
The absolute world leader. The network is almost entirely private, dead-end, and optimized for heavy freight trains.
China: over 160,000 km
The fastest-growing state-run network in the world, combining a robust freight sector with a gigantic passenger network.
Russia: over 87,000 km
It ranks third in the world. The network boasts the highest level of electrification (over 44,000 km—second in the world after China).

The first Russian railway, the Tsarskoye Selo Railway, had a unique, extra-wide track gauge of 1829 mm (6 ft). The distinguished Austrian engineer Franz von Gerstner chose this gauge to increase carriage capacity and enable the transportation of oversized cargo (including entire horse-drawn carriages).
However, this standard proved too expensive for large-scale construction.

Emperor Nicholas I approved the decree on the construction of the Nikolaevskaya (then St. Petersburg-Moscow) railway on February 1, 1842.
When Emperor Nicholas I approved the construction of the Nikolaevskaya Railway (St. Petersburg – Moscow), a commission was created under the leadership of engineer Pavel Melnikov. At the government's invitation, the renowned American consultant George Washington Whistler came to Russia.
At that time, the 5-foot (1524 mm) track gauge was actively developing in the United States. It was this gauge that Melnikov and Whistler proposed as the standard.

For a long time, the southern United States was dominated by its own broad gauge—1524 mm (5 ft). Because of this, freight from the south had to be reloaded onto northern trains.
The problem was solved during one of the largest engineering operations in history. In a record 36 hours (from May 31 to June 1, 1886), an army of tens of thousands of workers simultaneously moved the tracks on all southern lines.
More than 18,500 kilometers of tracks were converted to the 1435 mm standard, after which the US railway network became a single whole.

1435 mm (4 ft 8,5 in) is often called "Stephenson gauge" after the engineer George Stephenson, who used it in building the world's first commercial railway, Liverpool to Manchester, in 1830.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (a distinguished English engineer) considered Stephenson's gauge too narrow and unstable. For his Great Western Railway (GWR), he developed a super-broad gauge of 2140 mm (7 ft 1/4 in). Brunel's trains were much faster, more powerful, and more comfortable. Due to the inconvenience of freight handling, in 1846 Parliament passed the Railway Gauge Act, recognizing 1435 mm as the standard. By 1892, Brunel's broad gauge was finally abandoned.
In the first half of the 19th century, various private companies began building lines in Ireland with three different gauges (ranging from 1435 mm to 1880 mm). In 1846, the British Parliament intervened to end the confusion, calculated the arithmetic mean, and legislated the 1600 mm standard.
1600 mm (Irish gauge): Used in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and some states in Australia and Brazil.

1668 mm (Iberian gauge): Used in Spain and Portugal.
In 1844, Spanish engineers led by Juan Subias prepared a "Report on the Definition of a Track Gauge." They recommended a width of 6 Spanish feet (approximately 1672 mm), based on the purely engineering arguments of the time.
1676 mm (Indian gauge): The widest standard gauge for conventional trains in the world. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Chile.
India inherited it from the British Empire, which began building a network here in the 1850s.
India has long been plagued by a chaotic system of four different gauges (1676 mm, 1000 mm, 762 mm, and 610 mm), which meant cargo had to be constantly reloaded.
In 1992, the government launched a major program, Project Unigauge, to unify the entire network.
Tourist narrow-gauge historic lines (for example, in Darjeeling or Shimla) have retained the 610 mm or 762 mm gauge and are protected by UNESCO.

3000 mm: Breitspurbahn (Broad Gauge Railway). Adolf Hitler's superhighway project in the 1940s. The trains were to be double-decker and capable of speeds of up to 250 km/h. The project was abandoned due to Germany's defeat in the war.

The railways in China were built by foreign concessionaires (the British, Germans and Americans), who brought their own standards.
World leader in high-speed highways.
Regular commercial trains (Fuxing) run at speeds of up to 350 km/h.
China has built over 45 kilometers of dedicated high-speed lines (all on 1435 mm gauge), accounting for approximately 70% of all high-speed rail lines in the world.

[Sergey Novikov_3]

This is to make it easier for the Chinese to reach the Urals.

[ZnachWest]

That's why it's on Russian territory, so that technical delays can be arranged, if necessary...

[Ivan№One]

Increase in turnover?
Meanwhile, Russian Railways is suffering losses, debt levels up to the brim, and layoffs.
https://www.vedomosti.ru/investments/news/2026/03/26/1185822-pribil-rzhd

[Vic Vic]

"Cargo has to be reloaded due to the different track gauges"
I don’t know about freight trains, but in the past, when changing from one track to another, the bogies of passenger cars were changed and the same car continued on its way.

[Fedorov_Stanislav]

The Chinese are intensively extracting minerals from Siberia and the Far East!

[tabex]

At least they didn't burn that kerosene in vain, driving GDP back and forth. Judging by the collapse of Gazprom's stock price, they couldn't agree on a second power in Siberia.

[ZnachWest]

If you think strategically, then thank God...

[usr01]

but the cargo has to be reloaded due to the different track widths

I once read that wheel sets were changed (even during the time of the Tsar-father)
Then - carts (under Stalin-Brezhnev)...
In Brest they did it quickly...

[AdAstra]

"To increase freight turnover, Russia and China will build a new railway line—one that uses the Chinese gauge."
So, the governor of a Chinese province called the Russian Federation came to the Central Committee, received instructions, and approved their implementation. So, when will everyone be required to learn Chinese?

[Boniface]

There are developed systems for automatic transition from 1435 mm gauge to 1520 mm gauge (adjustable wheel axles) - implementing them on cars is MUCH cheaper than building a separate line for 1435 mm gauge
Then you can ship cargo from China in containers and simply transfer the container from one wagon to another with a different track gauge! And this is ALSO cheaper than building a new track.
CONCLUSION - they are again "sawing" the money in no other way, because it is not about efficiency, but about SAWING

[ZnachWest]

Simple stupidity and unprofessionalism are also a factor. The goal of expanding cargo flows with China is strategic, hence the ill-considered zeal of these idiots... But that's just an assumption—no one a priori believes in the professionalism of domestic careerists anymore, and rightly so...

[ZnachWest]

It's written poorly, which is why there are so many questions. Therefore, every commenter is entitled to make mistakes: the technical parameters of the transition aren't specified, and it's not clarified that the so-called pairs aren't trains... The information has raised numerous questions—doesn't this defeat the purpose of the article? To be fair, all media outlets are guilty of this these days. Well, unless it's a marketing ploy behind the empty words in the comments...

[Pavel57]

We'll still have to reload, just on our side. Or we'll have to haul the smaller gauge across the entire country.

[Pravodel]

What's not clear here is something else:
1. Russia, even under the Tsar, built the CER (1520 gauge), which runs through China, among other places. This railway carried freight easily to both China and Korea. So, the 1520 gauge was also suitable for China, or did China relocate the line to the 1435 gauge after WWII?
2. As written above

The new line will pass through the existing Zabaikalsk-Manchuria crossing.

In other words, a route with a width of 1435 mm will pass directly through Russian territory, not from the Russia-China border crossing, but through Russia to Zabaikalsk. Therefore, the question arises: what and how will be resolved if relations with China worsen? And we've already seen something like this happen.
If it had been written that an additional track was being built near the border crossing to accommodate wheel replacements, I imagine no one would have asked any questions; everyone would have understood that it was about increasing freight traffic to China. But now it turns out that we're suddenly trading with our homeland...

[Ronino]

Specifically, who makes such controversial decisions?