ASIA: An expedited freight service making use of upgraded border facilities has transported containers 4 486 km from Xi’an in China to Toshkent in Uzbekistan in what Kazakh national railway KTZ says is a record five days.
The service was organised within a framework for the development of China - Kazakhstan – Uzbekistan rail freight which was agreed by the presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan at a meeting in April.
The service started at the Kazakh-Chinese terminal in Xi’an. The containers were transhipped from China’s 1 435 mm gauge to 1 520 mm gauge wagons at the KTZ Korgas Gateway dry port, then transported through Kazakhstan to the border with Uzbekistan at Saryagash. The service ended at Toshkent, a major hub for Central Asia.
On August 5 KTZ said the overall transport time had been reduced by making use of its terminal capabilities in China. Work undertaken with the Uzbek railway administration to expand the border infrastructure at Saryagash and improve processes has led to an increase in capacity of 50%.
KTZ said freight traffic between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan totalled 31 million tonnes in 2023, up 17·2% on 2022.
