Mongolia Embraces China With Compatible Rail to Cut Costs

Mongolia’s parliament adopted for the first time a rail gauge compatible with China, to ease transport of its second-biggest export, coal, to its largest customer.

The landlocked nation’s 1900-kilometer (1,200 mile) rail network was built with help from the Soviet Union in the last century, as Mongolia looked westward for markets and political support. Constructing the 240-kilometer railway from the Tavan Tolgoi coal basin using China’s standard gauge will save on transportation costs, and helps draw a line under Mongolia’s historical mistrust of its southern neighbor, now the world’s largest energy consumer.