Chairman of the Ulaanbaatar Unified Road Congestion Reduction Project Implementation Unit Ch.Batzorig introduced the Project on Constructing Ulaanbaatar Light Train (LRT) Line with Pier Bridge Structure on April 20.

Officials are working on this project to build LRT lines, introduce a new type of public transportation in Ulaanbaatar, develop public transportation, and reduce the traffic load.

“The LRT will have three routes and the construction of the first line is planned to start in May 2022. The first line will run for a total of 18.1 kilometers from the Buyant-Ukhaa 2 town in 21st khoroo of Khan-Uul District to the Sansar roundabout in 2nd khoroo of Bayanzurkh District. The second route is estimated to be 17.5 kilometers from Shar Khad to Tolgoit, and the third route is estimated to be 14 kilometers from the National Garden Park to Zunjin. The feasibility study and environmental assessment of Line 1 have been completed,” said Ch.Batzorig.

“The estimated cost of the first line is about 926 million USD, costing 51.1 million USD per kilometer. About 15 percent of the funding will come from the city budget and 85 percent from China. Land planned for the project is planned to be taken for special state needs. About 7.5 billion MNT will be needed for land acquisition. The first line will be commissioned in the second quarter of 2024 and a test train will be launched then. The test train will run for six months before making it fully operational in 2025. With the commissioning of the first line light train, congestion along the route will be reduced by 25 percent.”

The number of vehicles registered in Ulaanbaatar has tripled from 234,000 in 2010 to 616,000 in 2020. Studies indicate that 72.2 percent of all households in the city own a car, and more than half of all cars in Mongolia are driven in Ulaanbaatar. However, over the past 10 years, the capacity of the road network has increased by only 19 percent.

Depending on traffic congestion, a person spends 2.5 hours a day or 35 days a year on the road, a study found. In addition, the population of Ulaanbaatar has increased 5.2 times since 1970, and the number of daily public transport passengers has increased by 3.7 times.