Trans-Aral Railway

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A view from the train while traveling along the path of the Trans-Aral Railway. Much of the railway cuts across the vast, rolling Kazakh Steppe.
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A view from the train while traveling along the path of the Trans-Aral Railway. Much of the railway cuts across the vast, rolling Kazakh Steppe.

The Trans-Aral was built in 1906 between Orenburg and Tashkent. For the first part of the century it was the only connection between European Russia and Central Asia.

After the revolution the line was blocked by Cossacks under the command of Ataman Dutov. Cut off from food supplies, and unable to sustain itself due to forced cotton cultivation, Russian Turkestan experienced an intense famine. The temporary loss of the Trans-Aral also allowed the Tashkent Soviet a degree of autonomy from Moscow during the period immediately following the Bolshevik takeover.

The line passes through several notable cities in Kazakhstan, including Aral, Turkistan, and Shymkent.

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