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Railways

The Chüy Valley in the north and the Fergana valley in the south were endpoints of the Soviet Union 's rail system in Central Asia. Following the emergence of independent post-Soviet states, the rail lines which were built without regard for administrative boundaries have been cut by borders, and traffic is therefore severely curtailed. The small bits of rail lines within Kyrgyzstan, about 370 km (230 mi) (1,520 mm (59.8 in) broad gauge) in total, have little economic value in the absence of the former bulk traffic over long distances to and from such centres as Tashkent, Almaty, and the cities of Russia.

In 2022, construction began on a new 186 km extension of the existing railway from Balykchy to Karakeche. Its primary purpose will be to carry coal from mines at Karakeche to Bishkek.

There are vague plans about extending rail lines from Balykchy in the north or from Osh in the south into China, but the cost of construction would be enormous.

In 2022, the president of Kyrgyzstan, Zhaparov, has told local media that he expects construction of the 523 km China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan (CKU) Railway to begin next year. The CKU Railway would comprise 213 km (132 mi) in China, 260 km (162 mi) in Kyrgyzstan and 50 km (31 mi) in Uzbekistan.