The plenary session of parliament reviewed a draft bill on several measures for the implementation of the State Policy on Railway Transportation, which won approval with 84 percent of the vote.

Due to strategic priorities, the issue whether to build narrow-gauge or wide-gauge railroads has been in hot debate and delayed for years.

The bill will permit the building of narrow-gauge (1,435 mm) railroad from coal processing plants to the Chinese border for transporting raw minerals, dependent on an effective agreement on border crossing cooperation between Mongolia and China.

If negotiations on railway transportation cooperation are a success, the new Tavantolgoi-Gashuunsukhait, Sainshand-Zamiin Uud, and Khuut-Bichigt railway lines would be built with 1,435 mm gauge rails, and the Arts Suuri-Erdenet, Tavantolgoi-Sainshand-Baruun-Urt-Khuut-Choibalsan, and Khuut-Numrug railway lines would be built with 1,520 mm gauge rails.

The Sainshand and Zamiin Uud lines were eliminated from the proposed plan submitted by the government, and the new railway lines will be built along two main routes instead.