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[[File:Western-most end of Northern Xinjiang Railway.jpg|200 px|thumb|right|Terminus of the [[Lanxin railway]] at [[Alataw Pass]], where the Chinese rail system connects with that of [[Kazakhstan]] at [[Dostyk]].  From Kazakhstan, rail links extend into Russia.]]
The '''New Eurasian Land Bridge''', also called the '''Second''' or '''New Eurasian Continental Bridge''', is the southern branch of the [[Eurasian Land Bridge]] rail links running through the [[People's Republic of China]]. The Eurasian Land Bridge is the overland rail link between East Asia and Europe.

==Routes==
Due to a [[break-of-gauge]] between [[standard gauge]] used in China and the [[5 ft and 1520 mm gauge railways|Russian gauge]] used in the former [[Soviet Union]] countries, containers must be physically transferred from Chinese to Kazakh railway cars at Dostyk on the Chinese-Kazakh border and again at the Belarus-Poland border where the standard gauge used in western Europe begins. This is done with truck-mounted cranes.<ref name=NYT72013 /> Chinese media often states that the New Eurasian Land/Continental Bridge extends from [[Lianyungang]] to [[Rotterdam]], a distance of {{convert|11870|km|mi|-1}}. The exact route used to connect the two cities is not always specified in Chinese media reports, but appears to usually refer to the route which passes through [[Kazakhstan]].

All rail freight from China across the Eurasian Land Bridge must pass north of the Caspian Sea through [[Russia]] at some point. A proposed alternative would pass through Turkey and Bulgaria,<ref name=Noinvite102810>{{cite news|title=China Invites Bulgaria to Join High-Speed Asia-Europe Rail with Turkey|url=http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=121602|accessdate=July 21, 2013|newspaper=noinvite.com|date=October 28, 2010}}</ref> but any route south of the Caspian Sea must pass through Iran.<ref name=NYT72013 />

==Freight==
As of 2013 express freight trains were being used by manufacturers such as [[Hewlett-Packard]] to ship products from factories in the interior of China though [[Rail transport in Kazakhstan|Kazakhstan]], [[Rail transport in Russia|Russia]], [[Rail transport in Belarus|Belarus]], and [[Rail transport in Poland|Poland]] to Europe. The [[Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia]] reduces inspections, delays and [[package pilferage|theft]]. Shipment from a factory in a city in central or western China such as [[Chongqing]] or [[Chengdu]] to distribution centers in Europe takes about 3 weeks; less than the 5 weeks taken by ship transport but 25% more expensive. Air freight, including processing, takes about a week, but costs 7 times as much as rail and adds 30 times more carbon to the atmosphere. Freight containers are sealed and heavily guarded. Armed guards accompany the trains. Freight traffic is projected by Kazakhstan to increase by several orders of magnitude by 2020, from thousands to millions of freight containers shipped annually.<ref name=NYT72013>{{cite news|title=Hauling New Treasure Along the Silk Road|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/business/global/hauling-new-treasure-along-the-silk-road.html|accessdate=July 21, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 20, 2013|author=Keith Bradsher}}</ref>

==References==

===Notes===
{{reflist}}

===Print===
*{{cite news |url= |title=Global crisis delays Mongolia-Europe rail freight project |work=[[Montsame News Agency]] |first=S. |last=Batbayar |page= |date=April 8, 2009}}
*{{cite news |url= |title=UN promotes role of Eurasian continental link |work=[[China Daily]] |first=Jing |last=Fu |page=2 |date=August 27, 2004}}
*{{cite news |url= |title=Just 15 days after leaving Beijing, the first demonstration intermodal freight service operated by Eurasian Land Bridge between China and Germany arrived in Hamburg on January 24 |work= |first= |last=''[[International Railway Journal]]'' |page=7 |date=March 2008}}
*{{cite news |url= |title=Iranian President's Visit to China Advances Strategic, Cultural Dialogue Part 1 |work=[[Tehran Times]] |first=Muriel |last=Mirak-Weissbach |page= |date=August 2, 2000}}
*{{cite news |url= |title=Jiangsu coast to act as catalyst for growth:  Region will be turned into a transport hub |work=[[South China Morning Post]] |first=Daniel |last=Ren |author2=Lilian Zhang |author3=Will Clem |page=5 |date=June 11, 2009}}
*{{cite news |url= |title=Experts propose developing SW corridor of third Asia-Europe land-bridge |work= |first= |last= ''[[Xinhua News Agency]]'' |date=November 24, 2008}}
*{{cite news |url= |title=NW China mulls "New Silk Road" exhibition park |work= |first= |last= ''[[Xinhua News Agency]]'' |date=July 1, 2007}}
*{{cite news |url= |title=China northwest city to host UN meet on Eurasia continental bridge 29 Jun-4 Jul |work= [[BBC Monitoring]] |first= |last= ''[[Xinhua News Agency]]'' |date=June 21, 2007}}
*{{cite news |url= |title=China: Congress deputies propose free trade zones along continental bridge |work= [[BBC Monitoring]] |first= |last= ''[[Xinhua News Agency]]'' |date=March 11, 2004}}

===Web===
*{{cite web
 | last = ''[[China Daily]]''
 | first = 
 | date = March 18, 2004
 | url = http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-03/18/content_315973.htm
 | title = New railway linking China, Europe to be built
 | format = Newspaper article
 | work = 
 | publisher = [[Communist Party of China]]
 | accessdate = November 11, 2009
}}
*{{cite web
 | last = Ōtsuka
 | first = Shigeru
 | date = September 2001
 | url = http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr28/pdf/f42_ots.pdf
 | title = Central Asia's Rail Network and the Eurasian Land Bridge
 | format = Journal article
 | work = Japan Railway and Transport Review
 | publisher = East Japan Railway Culture Foundation
 | accessdate = November 11, 2009
}}
*{{cite web
 | last = Rodrigue
 | first = Jean-Paul
 | date = 1998–2009
 | url = http://www.people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch5en/conc5en/NEW_Corridor_Freight.html
 | title = The Northern East-West Freight Corridor (Eurasian Landbridge)
 | work = The Geography of Transport Systems
 | publisher = Department of Global Studies & Geography, [[Hofstra University]]
 | accessdate = November 11, 2009
}}

== See also ==
[[North–South Transport Corridor]]

==External links and further reading==
*[https://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2013/07/21/silk-road/ Multimedia ''The New York Times'']

{{Eurasian Land Bridge}}
{{One Belt, One Road}}
{{Foreign relations of China}}

[[Category:Rail transport in Russia]]
[[Category:Rail transport in the Russian Far East]]
[[Category:Economic integration]]
[[Category:Transnationalism]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Asia]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Europe]]
[[Category:Rail transport in China]]
[[Category:Rail transport in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Rail cooperatives]]
[[Category:Rail freight transport]]
[[Category:International railway lines]]
[[Category:International rail transport]]
[[Category:Passenger rail transport]]