The corridor is set to increase cargo transportation nearly threefold—from 32 million tons to 50 million tons by 2030, and up to 90 million tons by 2050. This ambitious goal is set by Russian Railways for the Ulan Bator Railway, which runs through the Russia-Mongolia-China corridor.

According to Russian Railways, this goal has been endorsed not only by the Russian state holding but also by the leaders of the neighbouring railways in Mongolia and China. To achieve this ambitious target, plans include introducing a second narrow-gauge track at the Dzamyn-Uud station (Mongolia) to improve train passage from the Chinese side, as well as constructing a new terminal at the Sukhe-Bator station.

In 2023, the cargo volume reached 32.4 million tons, setting a historical record. For the first eight months of 2024, this figure amounted to 21.7 million tons, which is a 2.8% increase compared to the same period last year. 

Chinese analysts point out that Mongolia attaches great importance to ties with China, and as a key neighbour of both China and Russia, Mongolia can play a significant role to boost regional development. 

Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene said that Mongolia is willing to work with China to push forward bilateral relations based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and common development.

The director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences Da Zhigang said that the trilateral cooperation, which traditionally focuses on energy and mining, will be further expanded to the areas of climate change and green development.

Sources: Global Times and Russian Railways.

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