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Kazakhstan and Russia Increase Rail Cargo Transportation to and from China

On October 18, Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin, and Russia's Deputy Chairman of the Government Alexey Overchuk attended a meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Cooperation in Moscow, on Kazakhstan and Russia's transport and logistics sectors. As reported by the Kazakh government's press service, between January and September 2024, the volume of containers transported by rail from Russia to China through Kazakhstan, increased by 63% compared to the same period in 2023, while container transportation along the China-Europe-China route through Russia and Kazakhstan increased by 65%. During the meeting an agreement was made to further increase the flow of container trains on the China-Kazakhstan-Russia route by constructing the necessary transport infrastructure at the Selyatino rail station in the Moscow region. In April, Kazakhstan’s national railway’s company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), Russia’s Slavtrans-Service JSC, and China’s Xian Free Trade Port Construction and Operation Co., Ltd began construction on a new transport and logistics center, CRK Terminal, at Selyatino, aimed at ensuring the efficient handling of cargo following the route Xi'an (China) - Dostyk/Altynkol (Kazakhstan) - Selyatino (Russia). The center is set to become an essential link in developing international transport corridors and increase the competitiveness of transportation through Kazakhstan. In 2023, the volume of cargo transported by rail between China and Russia through Kazakhstan amounted to 3.8 million tons, an increase of 35% compared to 2022. Kazakhstan also remains an important transit and transport link along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), which known as the Middle Corridor, connects China and Europe via Central Asia and the Caucasus.

China Economy Railway International transport New rail routes China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Kyrgyzstan Railway

China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Company Opened in Bishkek

On September 28, LLC China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway Company opened in Bishkek for the purpose of constructing and operating a line connecting the three countries. The opening ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, Akylbek Japarov, the Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Du Dewen, high-ranking officials from the Department of Foreign Capital and Overseas Investment of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, and Uzbekistan’s Minister of Transport, Ilkhom Makhkamov. Emphasizing the railway's importance for the region, Japarov stated: "We call this project ‘the construction of the century.’ It will take economic cooperation between China and Central Asian countries to a qualitatively new level." Currently, neither Kyrgyzstan nor Uzbekistan has a rail link with China, with Central Asia only having a connection to China through Kazakhstan. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan also have no railway connecting the two countries. China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan signed an intergovernmental agreement on the railway construction project on June 6 in Beijing. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, the 523 km railway will run through Kashgar (China), Torugart, Makmal, Jalal-Abad (Kyrgyzstan), and Andijan (Uzbekistan). A transit and logistics infrastructure will be developed along the route. Once completed, the line will see 15 million tons of cargo annually. In June, Akylbek Japarov confirmed a statement made by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov in April 2024, stating that the railway construction would cost $8 billion as opposed to the preliminarily estimate of $4.7billion.

Russia Transport Migration Railway Migrants

Passenger Train Between Tashkent and Moscow Resumes

After a four-year break, the passenger train service on the Tashkent-Moscow-Tashkent route has resumed. The service reopened this week, with passenger trains now departing from Tashkent and back from Moscow once a week. The first Tashkent-Moscow train departed from Tashkent’s central railway station on September 24, and is scheduled to arrive at the Paveletsky railway station in Moscow on September 27. Passenger train service on the Bishkek-Moscow route will resume in 2025. The passenger train between Bishkek and Moscow has been out of operation since the COVID-19 pandemic. After the pandemic, trains from Bishkek and the Russian city of Samara resumed. Passenger trains to Moscow were temporarily suspended from Bishkek and other Eurasian countries due to a large-scale reconstruction of the Moscow railway junction that began after the pandemic. Relatively cheap railway service to Moscow (compared to air transport) is essential for Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as hundreds of thousands of Kyrgyz and Uzbek labor migrants work in Russia.

China Afghanistan Agriculture Railway Agricultural Export International transport International Transit Rail cargo Wheat export Grain export railroads

Special Report: Prospects Look Good for Kazakh Wheat Exports

According to the International Grains Council, Kazakhstan's wheat harvest for the 2024/2025 season is expected to reach 16 million tons. As the harvesting campaign begins, the country's lack of elevator capacity and the problem of mainline railroads are concerns. Idle trains are still a problem, which leads to the introduction of regular restrictions and bans on the acceptance and shipment of wheat due to congestion on the railroad. Market participants note that the railroad cannot cope with the volume of shipments during the autumn rush, with its infrastructural ceiling on shipments at only 1 million tons of grain per month. This leads to a collapse at border railroad crossings and, consequently, a price drop in the domestic market. One obvious solution is to expand Kazakhstan's elevator capacity and grain storage facilities; this is one of the reasons for the increased load on the railroad infrastructure. Thus, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, 191 licensed grain-receiving enterprises have a total storage capacity of more than 13.2 million tons. In addition, agricultural producers have storage capacities for 15.8 million tons of grain, which, as the ministry assures, is enough to store grain considering the projected harvest. Also, according to the ministry, the construction of new grain storage facilities and the expansion of existing ones are envisaged. In 2024-2026, it plans to operate five granaries with a capacity of 30,200 tons. The national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) has already established a grain headquarters, involving representatives from local executive bodies, the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs "Atameken," and shippers. This headquarters ensures adequate transportation for the upcoming season's harvest. As Salamat Abzhaliyev, Deputy General Director for Marketing and Planning of KTZ-Gruzovye Transportations LLP, noted during the briefing held at the end of August, for seven months of the current year, the total volume of grain loading on the network of railroads of the country amounted to 4.7 million tons. Only in Kazakhstan did wheat transportation increase by 3%, amounting to 1.1 million tons. An important factor affecting the efficiency of transporting grain and milling products is the availability of specialized wagons. In addition to boxcars, grain carriers are designed to transport these specific cargoes. Today, the total fleet of boxcars and grain cars on the railroad is about 16,000 and 12,000, respectively. According to KTZ, this fleet is sufficient to fulfill all agreed transportation plans. According to forecasts of the International Grain Council, the export of Kazakhstani wheat in the 2024/2025 season is projected at 10 million tons. During the first six months of the year, 2.4 million tons of wheat have already been shipped. The main buyers of domestic grain are traditionally Uzbekistan, China, Tajikistan, Italy, and Afghanistan. Grain exports to China have grown 5.7 times in the last three years, which makes China a key export destination. China is ready to accept large volumes of grain from Kazakhstan. Today, the country buys about 10 million tons of wheat worldwide, including from Kazakhstan. However, further development of trade is constrained by limited transportation...

Afghanistan Railway stations Railway Economy Transport Investments

Uzbekistan Repairs Afghanistan’s Naibabad Railway Station

Uzbekistan Railways JSC reports that the opening ceremony of the restored Naibabad railway station in Afghanistan was held on August 7. The restoration work was carried out by Uzbekistan Railways JSC in cooperation with the Termez regional railway junction and Sogdiana Trans. During the ceremony, the first freight cars arrived at Naibabad. Afghanistan plays an important role in connecting Central and South Asia through road and railway routes passing through its territory. The Naibabad station will be an important center for transporting goods from Russia, Kazakhstan, China, and European countries to Pakistan, India, and other South Asian countries. Particular attention was paid to accelerating the implementation of the Trans-Afghan railway construction project along the Mazar-e Sharif-Kabul-Kharlachi route. This project significantly improves regional logistics relations and trade and economic cooperation. Kazakhstani diplomat Aidar Borangaziev said that Uzbekistan and SCO member states benefit from economic projects implemented in Afghanistan. These projects include the trans-Afghan railways, the North-South Transport Corridor, and the Central Asian branches of the New Silk Road – part of the Partnership Network concept of strategic ports and logistics centers being developed within the SCO.

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Steel Highways: The State of Central Asia’s Railways

Railways in Central Asia have always played an important political and economic role, but amid the current geopolitical turbulence, they have become a crucial means of transporting goods from China to Europe and the Middle East, bypassing sanctioned Russia. But what is the state of Central Asia's railway industry, and is it up to the new challenges? The history of rail transport in Central Asia dates back to the end of the 19th century. In 1874, a special commission of the Russian Empire recognized the need to construct a line from Orenburg to Tashkent. Later, however, strategic considerations forced a change of plan and to ensure a stable connection between the Turkestan and Caucasus regions, the first steel highway in Central Asia would be built to connect Tashkent with the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea. This was an active period of the so-called Great Game, when Russia and Great Britain competed in Central Asia. Since then, the geopolitical importance of railways in the region, which lacks access to oceans, has not decreased whatsoever. Indeed, amid armed conflicts in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine, railways have become even more important given their role in ensuring the movement of goods along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). Against this backdrop, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has tasked the national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) with leading the transformation of the country into a transport and logistics hub. Kazakhstan: A story of steady development The length of Kazakhstan's mainline rail network is over 16,000 km, with over 800 stations and crossing points. The freight car fleet exceeds 120,000 units, while locomotives number more than 1,700. Kazakhstan’s railways account for 70% of freight traffic, and 60% of passenger traffic in the country. Just under 1% of the country’s population is employed in the rail industry. According to the KTZ's annual report in 2023, container transit rose 14% year-over-year to 1.282 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units), which drove a 30.6% year-on-year rise in operating income to KZT1.934 trillion, while net profit came in at KZT136.8 billion ($286.8 million). The volume of freight transported between Kazakhstan and China was also up 22% to 28 million tons. In addition, KTZ reported the completion of large-scale track repairs in 2023, with 1,443 km of railway track repaired, double the figure achieved in 2022. The start of large infrastructure projects was also noted. In particular, construction was launched of the Darbaza–Maktaaral and Bakhty–Ayagoz lines (with a third border crossing with China set to be opened in 2027), while construction of the bypass line around Almaty also commenced. Over 300 km of the second track was laid on the Dostyk-Moyynty railway section. Finally, a Kazakh transport and logistics terminal was opened in the Chinese dry port of Xi'an. Uzbekistan: First high-speed rail in Central Asia O’zbekiston Temir Yo’llari (UTY), Uzbekistan's national rail carrier, was founded on November 7, 1994, taking over the lines of the Soviet-era Middle...