New Delhi, Aug 2026 : Russia is exploring the possibility of developing a new railway corridor that could eventually provide land-based access to the Indian Ocean and establish stronger connectivity with India, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin has said.
In an interview with Russian news agency TASS, Khusnullin said Moscow should examine alternative transportation routes to reduce its dependence on strategically important maritime chokepoints such as the Bosphorus and the Strait of Hormuz.
He said one possible option could be a railway corridor linking Russia with India through Turkmenistan, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. According to Khusnullin, Moscow would consider different routes that could eventually provide direct or indirect access to the Indian market and the Indian Ocean.
The proposal, however, remains at an exploratory stage and no final decision has been taken on the construction of such a railway link. There is currently no confirmed route, passenger service, ticketing arrangement or timeline for launching a Russia-India railway connection under the proposed plan.
Khusnullin stressed that geopolitical and logistical developments have highlighted the importance of developing alternative transportation corridors. The Strait of Hormuz, in particular, remains one of the world's most strategically significant maritime routes, carrying a substantial share of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
According to estimates cited in the discussion, around 25 per cent of global oil trade and nearly 20 per cent of LNG shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Any disruption to the waterway could therefore have significant consequences for international energy markets and global supply chains.
Against this backdrop, Russia is examining land-based alternatives that could provide greater resilience to its trade routes. A railway corridor towards India could allow Russian goods to reach the Indian Ocean through an overland network, potentially reducing reliance on vulnerable maritime passages.
Such a route could also strengthen Russia's economic and transportation links with Central and South Asia. The proposed corridor would pass through several countries, making its development dependent on extensive diplomatic coordination and agreements covering transit rights, customs, security and cross-border movement.
For India, a potential rail connection could create new opportunities for trade and connectivity with Russia and Central Asian countries. It could eventually facilitate the movement of goods while providing an alternative transportation route between Eurasian markets and the Indian Ocean.
The corridor could also have longer-term implications for tourism and people-to-people connectivity if passenger services are eventually introduced.
However, significant challenges remain. Building a railway network across multiple countries would require major infrastructure investment, difficult terrain management and extensive coordination between governments. Security considerations, particularly along portions of the proposed route, would also need to be addressed.
For now, the Russian proposal represents an early-stage exploration rather than a committed infrastructure project. Its significance lies in Moscow's growing interest in diversifying transportation networks and establishing stronger overland connectivity with India and the wider Indian Ocean region.
(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
