Tajiks Say Uzbeks Still Blocking Rail Freight

The continuing blockage of rail transport from Uzbekistan into Tajikistan is disrupting economic activity in the latter Central Asian state. Rail freight volumes in January to June were 30 per cent down on the same period last year. 

Analysts in Tajikistan believe the delays, which began in February, are a ploy to pressure their government into shelving plans to complete the Roghun hydroelectric scheme, which Uzbekistan objects to because of the effect a large dam might have on water levels in the Amu Darya river. 

Tajik Railways chief Amanullo Hukumatullo says he is baffled by the various explanations given by his Uzbek counterparts – that their rail network was over-burdened, that some sections of track had been damaged by landslides, and that there were not enough engines to shift the wagons. He says offers to provide locomotives free of charge have gone unanswered.

Many Tajik businessmen are counting their losses as they wait in vain for freight stuck in sidings somewhere in Uzbekistan. The Tajik rail authority is constantly sending telegrams to Tashkent containing requests to locate and dispatch specific railcars.

Talks between the two countries’ presidents in early June resulted in an agreement that the freight would start moving again, but as of the beginning of August there were still hundreds of wagons at a standstill.

Tajik foreign minister Hamrokhon Zarifi believes the problem now lies with officials in Uzbekistan’s Surkhondarya region, the access point for trains entering southern Tajikistan, whom he accuses of ignoring their president, Islam Karimov.

One result of the dispute has been to accelerate plans for an alternative rail route running through Afghanistan to Iran and Turkmenistan.

The audio programme, in Russian and Tajik, went out on national radio stations in Tajikistan, as part of IWPR project work funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.