Countering
MPs who favor a narrow-gauge railroad, Minister for Road, Transportation,
Construction and Urban Development Kh. Battulga has said the only option before
landlocked Mongolia
to link its economy with that of the world is to get an access to the
Trans-Siberian Railway. That uses the broad gauge and so the proposed
Tavantolgoi-Sainshand-Choibalsan railroad should be similar to facilitate
export of natural resources, refined and raw, he said.

Some
MPs have said connecting Tavantolgoi with China will only repeat “the mistake
in the cashmere trade”. They also want Mongolia
to end its dependence on China
for 70-80 percent of the total food products it consumes. They also want a
revival of the manufacturing sector.

Russia’s broad-gauge railways do not
suit world practice but Mongolia
is almost 100 percent dependent on Russia when it comes to petroleum. That
factor has to be considered when the authorities take the final decision on the
railway.