THE disintegration of the Soviet Union has caused a suspension of railway services by the epoch-making Eurasia Continental Railway for more than two years, according to Chinese officials.
The transcontinental rail link, which connected Lianyungang in Jiangsu Province with Rotterdam in the Netherlands, was hailed as a breakthrough after China was diplomatically isolated as a result of the June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square massacre.
But since the first cargo left Lianyungang on September 12, 1990, no trains have travelled the route.
Mr Xu Changxiang, director of the Lianyungang Asia-Europe Land Bridge Office, said the suspension was due to disagreement among the various countries now running the railway.
According to him, the governments of most of the countries - except China and Russia - lacked experience in managing a transcontinental railway system.
Making the situation even more difficult was the slow transition to a market economy by the various countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States, Mr Xu said.
''They are still following a centrally-planned economy,'' he said.