ASTANA – The Kazakh Ministry of Transport recently hosted the first meeting of the working group on cargo transportation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) between Kazakhstan and China.
During the meeting, the parties discussed and finalized projections for cargo flow volumes from China along the TITR on the China-Europe route and in reverse, up to the end of 2029. According to the agreement, the parties aim to increase transportation along the TITR to 600 container trains annually by 2025-2026, 1,000 trains by 2027, and up to 2,000 trains by 2029, reflecting a significant expansion of the route’s capacity.
The Kazakh side will take measures to ensure the appropriate infrastructure in domestic ports for the timely transportation of containers and the prevention of delays under the increase in the number of transit container trains.
Work is underway to implement several projects, such as the construction of second tracks of the Dostyk—Moiynty railway section, the Almaty bypass railway line, and the new Darbaza—Maktaral railway line between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Measures are also being taken to increase the capacity of the Aktau and Kuryk seaports.
In 2023, the volume of transportation along TITR reached 2.76 million tons of cargo, which is 65% higher than in 2022 – 1.7 million tons. Kazakhstan expects that by 2025, no less than 50,000 standard containers will be handled annually, with at least 85,000 containers per year from 2026 to 2029.