Tajik Railways (Tajik: Роӽи оӽани Тоҷикистон; Russian: Таджикская железная дорога) is Tajikistan's state-ownedrailway company, both owning and managing infrastructure and operating freight and passenger train services in Tajikistan. As of 2016, the system is limited, as the railroad system totals only 997 kilometres (620mi) of non-electrified, single-track railway, all of it 1,520mm (4ft11+27⁄32in)Russian gauge.
The system connects the main urban centres of western Tajikistan with points in neighboring Uzbekistan. In 1999 a new line connected the southern cities of Bokhtar and Kulob. In 2016, another line connected both cities to the capital Dushanbe, thus linking southern and central railway networks together.
The northern branch around Khujand remains physically disconnected from this main Tajik railway network, accessible only through a lengthy transit via Uzbekistan. As of 2017, the passenger service remains limited to infrequent international trains from Dushanbe and Khujand to Moscow, one weekly train from Dushanbe to Khujand (via Uzbekistan) as well as a local service between Dushanbe and Pakhtaabad (daily) and Kulyob/Shahrtuz (twice weekly).
Passenger transit through Tajikistan has been hindered by periodic failures of Tajik Railways to pay transit tariffs and by safety issues.
Network
The system is currently limited to the following railways lines:
Tajikistan is a key participant in the proposed Five Nations Railway Corridor (FNRC), a multi-country transit initiative designed to establish an overland rail corridor linking China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Iran across an estimated total route of 2,100 kilometres (1,300mi).
The project envisions a southern Eurasian freight route running from Kashgar in western China through southern Kyrgyzstan, traversing central and southern Tajikistan, continuing through northern and western Afghanistan (via Kunduz, Mazar-i-Sharif, and Herat), and connecting to the Iranian rail system at Khaf.
The proposed alignment within Tajikistan spans roughly 392 to 500 kilometres (244 to 311mi), entering from Kyrgyzstan via the Rasht Valley or Karamyk pass, running southwest through the Vahdat–Dushanbe corridor, and continuing south towards Panji Poyon (formerly known as Nizhny Pyanj) on the Afghan border.
For Tajik Railways, the project would provide several major strategic advantages:
Direct overland rail connections to Iranian seaports on the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman (such as Chabahar Port and Bandar Abbas), bypassing traditional transit dependencies through northern regional routes.
Potential integration into transcontinental trade corridors connecting Chinese manufacturing centres directly to Middle Eastern and European markets.
Significant technical and financial challenges remain, including the mountainous topography of the Pamir-Alay ranges, high construction capital costs, regional security considerations along the Afghan section, and break of gauge operations between 1,435mm (4ft8+1⁄2in) standard gauge (used in China and Iran) and the 1,520mm (4ft11+27⁄32in) broad gauge used across Tajikistan.
