Transport in Turkmenistan
Transport in Turkmenistan includes roadways, railways, airways, seaways, and waterways, as well as oil-, gas-, and water pipelines.
[2] Air service began in 1927 with a route between Chardzhou (Türkmenabat) and Tashauz (Dashoguz), flying German Junkers 13 and Soviet K-4 aircraft, each capable of carrying four passengers.
In 1932 an aerodrome was built in Ashgabat on the site of the current Howdan neighborhoods, for both passenger and freight service, the latter mainly to deliver supplies to sulfur mines near Derweze in the Karakum Desert.
[3] Airports serving the major cities of Ashgabat, Dashoguz, Mary, Turkmenabat, and Türkmenbaşy, which are operated by Turkmenistan's civil aviation authority, Türkmenhowaýollary, feature scheduled domestic commercial air service.
[9] Under normal conditions, international flights annually transport over half a million people into and out of Turkmenistan, and Turkmenistan Air operates regular flights to Moscow, London, Frankfurt, Birmingham, Bangkok, Delhi, Abu Dhabi, Amritsar, Kyiv, Lviv, Beijing, Istanbul, Minsk, Almaty, Tashkent, and St. Petersburg.
Small airfields serve industrial sites near other cities, but do not feature scheduled commercial passenger service.
[10][11][12][13][14] A new airport at Kerki was commissioned in June 2021 and is slated to begin regular domestic passenger service in January 2022.
[19] The rail line connecting Mary to Serhetabat was completed in 1898, and the train ferry between Kislovodsk (today's Türkmenbaşy) and Baku began operating in 1905.
[22][23] The Tejen-Sarahs-Mashhad railway, built in 1996 by Turkmenistan and Iran, has become a vital freight link of Central Asian-, Russian-, and European rail systems with South Asia and the Persian Gulf.
[18][20] In 2006 the Trans-Karakum Railway, a direct link between Ashgabat and Dashoguz, halved travel time between the southern and northern borders.
It links Uzen in Kazakhstan with Bereket and Etrek in Turkmenistan and ends at Gorgan in Iran's Golestan province.
In late 2016, a railway line from Kerki south to Ymamnazar on the border with Afghanistan and beyond to Aqina in Andkhoy District was opened.
The Asian Development Bank reported in 2021,In 2019, TRA had a rolling stock fleet of 119 diesel locomotives, 10,056 freight wagons, and 425 passenger cars.
After the revolution, Soviet authorities graded dirt roads to connect Mary and Kushky (Serhetabat), Tejen and Sarahs, Kyzyl-Arvat (Serdar) with Garrygala (Magtymguly) and Chekishler, i.e., with important border crossings.
[18] The primary west-east motor route is the M37 highway linking the Turkmenbashy International Seaport to the Farap border crossing via Ashgabat, Mary, and Turkmenabat.
The primary north-south route is the Ashgabat-Dashoguz Automobile Road (Turkmen: Aşgabat-Daşoguz awtomobil ýoly), built in the 2000s.
[36][37] Operation of motor coaches (buses) and taxicabs is the responsibility of the Automobile Services Agency (Turkmen: Türkmenawtoulaglary Agentligi) of the Ministry of Industry and Communication.
In 1923 the Central Asian Turkmenabat Shipping Company began providing services to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and 10 regions of Kazakhstan, and transported loads by water across 1500 kilometers.
Next followed construction of the Gurtly and Köpetdag Water Reservoirs, and then came the fourth phase, extension of the canal as far as Bereket, which was completed in 1981.
[51] Smaller industrial loading terminals are located at Hazar (oil), Kiyanly (Turkmen: Gyýanly) (plastics), and Garabogaz (urea).
