Editing Transport in Turkmenistan (section)

== Railways ==
[[File:Turkmen Diesel locomotive2.jpg|thumb|Turkmen Diesel locomotive]]
{{Main|Rail transport in Turkmenistan}}
{{Main|Türkmendemirýollary}}
The first rail line in Turkmenistan was built in 1880, from the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea to Mollagara.  By October 1881 the line was extended to Kyzyl-Arvat (today's [[Gyzylarbat]]), by 1886 had reached Chardzhou (today's [[Turkmenabat]]).  In 1887 a wooden rail bridge was built over the [[Amu Darya]], and the line was continued to [[Samarkand]] (1888) and [[Tashkent]] (1898).<ref name=encyc>{{cite encyclopedia
  | encyclopedia = Туркменская ССР
  | title = Транспорт / Железнодорожный транспорт
  | trans-title = Transport / Rail transport
  | language = Russian
  | year = 1984
  | publisher = Chuvash Obkom CPSU
  | pages = 235–236
}}</ref> The rail line connecting Mary to [[Serhetabat]] was completed in 1898, and the train ferry between Kislovodsk (today's [[Türkmenbaşy, Turkmenistan|Türkmenbaşy]]) and [[Baku]] began operating in 1905.<ref name=carec2021>{{cite web|url=https://www.carecprogram.org/uploads/CAREC-CRA-TKM_8th_WEB.pdf|title=RAILWAY SECTOR ASSESSMENT FOR TURKMENISTAN|date=March 2021|publisher=[[Asian Development Bank]]}}</ref>

Rail service in Turkmenistan began as part of [[Russian Empire|Imperial Russia's]] [[Trans-Caspian railway|Trans-Caspian Railway]], then of the Central Asian Railway.  After the [[collapse of the USSR]], the railway network in Turkmenistan was transferred to  and operated by state-owned [[Türkmendemirýollary]].

Rail gauge is the standard Russian- and [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] 1520 millimeters.

The total length of railways is 3181&nbsp;km. Only domestic passenger service is available, except for special trains operated by tour operators.<ref name=schedule2>{{cite web|url=https://www.railway.gov.tm/ru/schedule|title=Расписание|language=Turkmen, Russian}}</ref> The railway carries approximately 5.5 million passengers and moves nearly 24 million tons of freight per year.<ref name=stat2020>{{cite book|title=Türkmenistanyň Ýyllyk Statistik Neşiri 2019 Ýyl|date=2020|place=Ashgabat|language=Turkmen, Russian, English|publisher=State Committee of Statistics of Turkmenistan}}</ref><ref name=rr>{{cite web|url=https://www.railway.gov.tm/ru/about|title=О НАС|language=Russian|publisher=Türkmendemirýollary}}</ref>

[[File:A newly constructed railway station in Bereket city, October 2013.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Bereket railway station (Turkmenistan)|Bereket Railway Station]] in ([[Bereket]]) is an important junction of the [[Trans-Caspian Railway]] and [[North–South Transport Corridor|North-South Transnational Railway]].]]

The [[Tejen]]-[[Sarahs]]-[[Mashhad]] railway, built in 1996 by Turkmenistan and [[Iran]], has become a vital freight link of Central Asian-, Russian-, and European rail systems with South Asia and the [[Persian Gulf]].<ref name=":12" /><ref name=carec2021 /> In 2006 the [[Trans-Karakum Railway]], a direct link between [[Ashgabat]] and [[Daşoguz|Dashoguz]], halved travel time between the southern and northern borders.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=carec2021 />

The [[Kazakhstan]]-Turkmenistan-[[Iran]] railway link, part of the [[North–South Transport Corridor]], is a {{convert|677|km|0|abbr=on}}-long railway line connecting [[Kazakhstan]] and [[Turkmenistan]] with [[Iran]] and the [[Persian Gulf]] since 2014. It links [[Uzen, Kazakhstan|Uzen]] in Kazakhstan with [[Bereket]] and [[Gyzyletrek|Etrek]] in Turkmenistan and ends at [[Gorgan]] in Iran's Golestan province. In Iran, the railway connects to the national network, including seaports on the Persian Gulf.<ref name="railway-technology1" /> The project cost an estimated $620 million, shared by the governments of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran.<ref name="railway-technology1">{{cite web |url=http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/northsouthtransnatio/ |title=North-South Transnational Corridor |publisher=railway-technology.com|access-date=2014-03-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.turkmenistaninfo.ru/?page_id=6&type=article&elem_id=page_6/magazine_114/1011&lang_id=en |title=Crossing of Railways |publisher=turkmenistaninfo.ru|access-date=2014-03-25}}</ref> This link of the North-South Transnational Railway runs 137&nbsp;km in Kazakhstan, 470&nbsp;km in Turkmenistan and 70&nbsp;km in Iran.  Work in Turkmenistan commenced in [[Bereket]] in December 2007 and in Kazakhstan in July 2009, and was completed in late 2014.

In late 2016, a railway line from [[Kerki]] south to [[Ymamnazar]] on the border with [[Afghanistan]] and beyond to [[Aqina]] in [[Andkhoy District]] was opened.<ref name="Afghan-Turkmenistan railroad inaugurated">{{cite news|last=Salehai|first=Zarghona|title=Afghan-Turkmenistan railroad inaugurated|url=http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2016/11/28/afghan-turkmenistan-railroad-inaugurated|date=28 November 2016|publisher=Pajhwok Afghan News|access-date=17 January 2017}}</ref> It is expected to become part of a [[Rail transport in Afghanistan#Afghanistan–Turkmenistan rail service|railway corridor through northern Afghanistan]]. This line was subsequently extended to [[Andkhoy (city)|Andkhoy]].<ref name=power>{{cite news|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/774462-turkmenistan-afghanistan-open-new-rail-and-power-links|title=Turkmenistan, Afghanistan open new rail and power links|date=January 15, 2021|publisher=[[Agence France-Presse|AFP]]}}</ref>

In February 2018, the existing rail line between [[Serhetabat]] and [[Torghundi]] in Afghanistan was restored to service.<ref name=torghundi>{{cite news|url=https://uae.tmembassy.gov.tm/en/news/10349|title=TRAIN SERVICE OPENS ON NEW TURKMEN-AFGHAN RAILWAY: SERHETABAT–TORGHUNDI|date=February 24, 2018|publisher=Turkmenistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs}}</ref><ref name=grantham>{{cite web|url=http://www.andrewgrantham.co.uk/afghanistan/railways/torghundi-and-the-railway-from-turkmenistan/|title=Torghundi and the railway from Turkmenistan|date=12 October 2019 |publisher=Andrew Grantham}}</ref> This line is planned to be extended to [[Herat]], where it could potentially connect to a rail line under construction from [[Khaf, Iran|Khaf]], [[Iran]].<ref name=herat>{{cite news|url=https://www.railjournal.com/infrastructure/iran-afghanistan-railway-ready-for-traffic/|title=Iran – Afghanistan railway ready for traffic|date=December 9, 2020|first=Oliver|last=Cuenca|publisher=International Railway Journal}}</ref>

===Rolling stock===
The [[Asian Development Bank]] reported in 2021,<blockquote>In 2019, TRA had a rolling stock fleet of 119 diesel locomotives, 10,056 freight wagons, and 425 passenger cars. The majority of locomotives and all the passenger cars were purchased from the PRC (25 CKD9A-series passenger locomotives and 83 CKD9C-series freight locomotives). The freight wagon fleet included 2,849 tanker wagons, 1,738 gondola wagons, 1,637 platform wagons, 1,358 closed hopper wagons, 1,143 box wagons and 654 refrigerated wagons.... In 2019, 6,607 wagons
(65% of the fleet) <nowiki>[were]</nowiki> at least 30 years old, with many of these wagons having exceeded their normal economic life and in need of replacement.<ref name=carec2021 /></blockquote>

=== Railway links with adjacent countries ===
* [[Rail transport in Iran|Iran]] - yes, freight only - {{RailGauge|1520mm}}/{{RailGauge|1435mm}} [[break-of-gauge]]
* [[Rail transport in Afghanistan|Afghanistan]] - yes, freight only - two links, from [[Ymamnazar]] to [[Aqina]] and (very short) from [[Serhetabat]] to [[Torghundi]], no passenger service
* [[Qazaqstan Temir Zholy|Kazakhstan]] - new rail link opened in 2013.
* [[Transportation in Uzbekistan#Railways|Uzbekistan]] - yes, service halted indefinitely
* [[Caspian Sea]] - irregular [[ferry]], passenger only.