Region
Barbed-wire mentality
The lack of adequate travel links between (and often within) the countries of this region is no secret. But a combination of political apathy and tension between nation states has meant that the number and quality of these connections have not improved substantially in recent decades.
In July, the Indian delegation at a meeting of SAARC transport ministers in Colombo proposed connecting Pakistan and Bangladesh through India via train. In keeping with the spirit of the regional body, the team said the links were as much about uniting the "hearts and minds" of the region's people as about upgrading transport links. Following on this suggestion, in early September Indian Railways put forth plans to have tracks connecting Dhaka, New Delhi and Lahore.
The proposed link would be part of the Trans-Asian Rail (TAR) network, as envisioned by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. If all goes according to plan, the TAR system will include 81,000 km of tracks, running all the way from Sri Lanka to Russia.