ASTANA (TCA) — Another container train along the route China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran will be launched in June, Kazakhstan’s national railways company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) said.
The decision was made following the meeting of representatives of the railway administrations of Kazakhstan, Iran, the Ministry of Railway Transport of Turkmenistan, and the Coordination Center for International Container Trains of the China Transport and Communications Association.
The meeting discussed the launching of the container train and agreed on favorable mutually beneficial tariffs.
“The agreements will facilitate the increase of transit traffic on the territory of our country,” said Sanzhar Elyubayev, vice president for logistics of KTZ.
In June this year the container train will start to run from China to Iran and third countries through the territories of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The length of the route will be more than 10,300 km; the train will cover this distance in less than 14 days.
“This route will be attractive; the advantage of it is that transportation of cargo will be carried out in a shorter period than by sea transport, which takes 40 days.
It will also be profitable for shippers at tariff rates,” said Ebrahim Mohammadi, Vice President for Operation and Movement of Iranian Railways.
It is planned that container trains from China to Iran will run on a regular basis by the end of the year.
The participants of the meeting also visited the infrastructure facilities of the FEZ Khorgos – Eastern Gateway and the border station Altynkol, where they got acquainted with the possibilities of the Kazakhstan transport and logistics hub on the border with China.
