Still a Pipedream : A Pakistan-to-China rail corridor is not a substitute for maritim

[Burger Boy]

In Switzerland they have been building a rail tunnel that goes under a mountain since 1996, and it still won't be completed until at least another 8 years. Switzerland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
The mountains between Pakistan and China are much more treacherous than the Swiss Alps, so is it even possible to build a rail link between the two countries?

 

[ares]

Why are you recommending a two front war?

No!! It is a response to those posters, who believe, China will construct a pipeline thorough Karakorum because its present sea route through Malacca straits is too vulnerable to Indian Naval blockade from Port Blair(Andaman islands) ..any route through Karakorum is equally vulnerable..if not more.

 

[DV RULES]

I don’t know in which paradise you are living, Gazprom oil&Gas gaint consortium is constructing Russia-Germany under sea gas pipeline through Bay of Finland indeed Russia supplying whole EU gas through pipeline but Germany wanted a secure and direct pipeline from Russia so they are working over this.
Why Germany came to think over this idea because there were problems with Ukraine previous government who started illegally get Gas from pipelines and EU didn’t got pressure for which they paid to Russia. So to bypass all these problems Germany came to talk on this idea

Construction of the controversial Nord Stream pipeline from Russia to western Europe under the Baltic Sea has been officially launched.

Gazprom holds 51% of Nord Stream, which will run from the Russian port of Vyborg to Germany's Greifswald.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attended the ceremony near Vyborg.
The project was given the go-ahead only in February amid fears that the pipeline could damage the Baltic Sea.
President Medvedev said at the ceremony that the pipeline "for the first time - which may be one of its main achievements - will ensure direct supplies of Russian gas to western Europe, bypassing transit territories".

The existing pipelines run from Russia to EU countries via Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.

'Binding obligations'
Russia provides up to 30% of the gas consumed in Europe, and many European countries have been keen to secure alternative energy supplies.
Critics have argued that European countries do not need more gas from Russia and that the project is too expensive.
But Gazprom deputy chief executive Alexander Medvedev said there was plenty of demand for the gas.

"All the gas volumes have either been contracted, or have been formalized in binding obligations," he told journalists.
Gas supplies from Russia to Europe have been threatened or disrupted in the past due to political and financial disputes between Moscow and its neighbours.

But Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said at the ceremony: "This country [Russia] has been cooperating with European neighbours in the gas sector for over 40 years.

"This cooperation has stood the test of time to the full extent."
The ceremony was also attended by Nord Stream board chairman and former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and European Commissioner for Energy Gunther Oettinger.

First phase
Russian gas monopoly Gazprom said on Wednesday that the first pipe had been laid under the sea.
The pipeline will be passing through Russian, Finnish, Swedish and German waters.

Last month, Nord Stream secured a 3.9bn-euro ($5.4bn; £3.5bn) fund to complete the first phase of the pipeline.
"Debt financing will cover 70% of the project costs while the remaining 30% will be provided by the project shareholders," said Paul Corcoran, financial director of Nord Stream AG.
German companies BASF-Wintershall and E.On Ruhrgas each own 20% of Nord Stream, while Gasunie of the Netherlands holds 9%.
Alexey Bulgakov from Troika Dialog investment bank pointed out that "Gazprom and its partners seem to have managed to raise funds at rather low interest rates."

The overall cost of the project, due for completion in 2012, is expected to reach 7.4bn euros.
Environmental worries
Russia hopes to pump up to 55bn cubic metres of gas a year to EU countries through the pipeline.
Supporters of the project say that it will secure gas supplies from Russia to Europe.
But environmentalists argue that building the pipeline could lead to toxins lying on the sea bed being stirred up, as the Baltic sea is one of the most polluted in the world.
Finland had refused to give the green light to construct the pipeline, but finally agreed to it in February under the condition that ships laying the pipeline do not lay anchor in Finland's economic zone.
The final hurdle was overcome after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin assured Baltic leaders that the project was safe, as extensive research had been carried out into any environmental impact of the pipeline construction.

Alternative projects
Apart from the Nord Stream, Russia has been planning another pipeline, the South Stream, which will run from southern Russia to Bulgaria under the Black Sea.
Meanwhile, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria last July signed an agreement to construct the long-planned 3,300km Nabucco natural gas pipeline.
It is expected to pump up to 31bn cubic metres of gas annually from the Caspian and the Middle East across Turkey and into Europe.

Agreement is costly, bit risky but they are doing for their own interest. They want to get without any problem for what they are going to pay.Just read above article and you will realize what king of problems may happened.

Problems are everywhere but it doesn’t mean that we will put stopper in our progress only to count hurdles and sit back and nowhere to go.

Now I am coming to topic tell me you are talking about war situations, if India is looking to disrupt this future pipeline in war then India has to know that before they will destroy pipeline their Oil storages in Jampur and Silicon Valley in Banglore will evaporate in the fumes of burning oil by SHAHEEN OR GHORI.So leave dreams about to disturb this.

These all analysis are nothing but poor, ill minded and propaganda based. Pakistan & china have not listen such 10th graded analysis and just go through for feasibility & track developments. Where concerns about Balochistan then let me say if we are going to plan such high important installations then we also know how to push back BLA in the hole from where they are supported.

I don’t know why our Pakistanis are taking about problems in North Pakistan, se we have to decide for ourselves that there were problems and we solved them and no problems now in the north. That’s all think about further & don’t stand at same place.

Everything is possible if there is the will, and this pipeline or rail track also possible, just only think one thing that this pipeline not only important for China but for Pakistan also because Russia already going to turn the direction of its pipelines towards China so you have to understand that we can get oil or gas direct from Russia too in long run. In 2010 Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin headed the inauguration ceremony of opening pipeline to China.

So this pipeline is a reality than a dream & we have to make this reality in front of our eyes.

in following map from Russia pipeline directed to Lunan (Xinjiang) from Altai province of Russia & from Lunan it turns toward Shanghai, so from Lunan Pipeline can be linked to Pakistan.

Russia - China Gas pipeline

Altai gas pipeline
The 2,800 kilometres (1,700 mi) long pipeline would start from the Purpeyskaya compressor station of the existing Urengoy-Surgut-Chelyabinsk pipeline. It would carry natural gas from Nadym and Urengoy fields in Western Siberia. Total length of Russian section will be 2,666 kilometres (1,657 mi), including 205 kilometres (127 mi) in Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region, 325 kilometres (202 mi) in Khanty-Mansyisk autonomous region, 879 kilometres (546 mi) in Tomsk Oblast, 244 kilometres (152 mi) in Novosibirsk Oblast, 422 kilometres (262 mi) in Altai Krai, and 591 kilometres (367 mi) in the Altai Republic. The terminal point in the Russian territory is the Kanas mountain pass. Large part of the pipeline will be built within the technical corridor of existing pipelines, such as Urengoy–Surgut–Chelyabinsk, Northern Tyumen regions–Surgut–Omsk, Nizhnevartovsk gas refinery–Parabel, Parabel–Kuzbass, Novosibirsk–Kuzbass, Novosibirsk–Barnaul and Barnaul–Biysk pipelines.[5] In China, the pipeline would be terminated in the Xinjiang region, where it will be linked to the West–East Gas Pipeline.

The West–East Gas Pipeline
The West–East Gas Pipeline (Chinese: 西氣東&#36664 is a 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) long pipeline, which runs from Lunnan in Xinjiang to Shanghai. The pipeline passes through 66 counties in the 10 provinces in China.[1] Natural gas transported by the pipeline is used for electricity production in the Yangtze River Delta area. There is a plan to replace coal with gas in Shanghai by 2010.