The role of the railway network of border areas in interstate cooperation

Abstract

The border areas of countries are aimed at playing a special role in the development of general economic and social relations, enhancing the geopolitical significance of regional interstate relations. The purpose of the work is to study and show the modern economic complex of border regions on the example of Russia and Mongolia, in which railway transport plays a significant role. Statistical and analytical comparison as a method of scientific analysis allowed examining in detail the territorial production complex of a large region, its resource dependence, and the conditionality of the functioning by the configuration of transport routes and transport accessibility indicators, both in Russia and Mongolia. The Russian railways, which connect Siberia and the Far East with the European regions of the country, continue to provide interdistrict and interregional economic relations at the present time. The Mongolian railways, which have a smaller length, perform a linking role between the fields of raw materials and the points of its processing or further transportation. The study showed that railways continue to be the basis for interregional cross-border connections. However, as the shortest transport route between the countries of Western, Central, Eastern Europe, and the countries of Central, East, and South-East Asia, the railways of the region in question, uniting the border regions of Mongolia and Russia, can strengthen their role in interstate cooperation and become the most important part of the international Eurasian transport corridors - the Steppe Route and the Silk Road.

The role of the railway network of border areas in interstate cooperation

“…Therefore, at the present time, the existing transport flow between the boundary aimaks of Mongolia and the eastern regions of Russia basically has a rather diverse structure, the elements of which are mineral raw materials, oil products, industrial equipment, and consumer goods [21,22]. Modernization and development of the border railway transport network will create opportunities for mass transportation of not only coal, grain, wool, and other goods, but also for the transportation of passengers, and, consequently, for the expansion of international trade and economic relations between the border regions of the two countries as a part of transport projects "Steppe Route" (track gauge 1520 mm) and "Silk Road" (track gauge 1435 mm), in the implementation of which the business structures of Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, and China are interested [23,24].…”

“…Following Russian border regions have the railway transport infrastructure -the Republic of Buryatia and the Transbaikal region, and the Mongolian ones -the aimaks Selenge and Dornod, where the railway border crossing points (RCBP) or stations are located with customs inspection, handing over of freight cars and containers, maintenance. These Russian-Mongolian points Naushki -Sukhe -Bator and Solovyevsk -Erentsav are currently the main hubs of the logistics and transport interaction, which contributes to the economic development of the two countries [4].…”