Кazakhstan is set to increase
transit cargo transportation to 35 million tonnes by 2029. In the first 10
months of this year, it amounted to 22.5 million tonnes, showing an almost 20
percent growth. Container shipments account for the lion’s share of that
volume. By the end of the year, the total volume of freight transportation by rail
in Kazakhstan is expected to reach 300 million tonnes, according to the
relevant ministry. Since the beginning of the year, export transportation in
the country has increased by 8.5 percent, primarily in the directions of China,
Central Asia and Europe. Located at the center of the Eurasian continent and at
the intersection of many international transportation routes, Kazakhstan
annually enhances its transit potential. For instance, last year, rail
shipments between Kazakhstan and China alone exceeded 23 million tonnes, with
plans to raise that figure to 76 million tonnes. The construction of the Darbaza-Maktaaral
new railway line will allow to attract an additional freight flow of 10 million
tonnes per year. These and other measures for the development of the railway
industry were discussed at a government meeting.
“The volumes of transit
transportation between Asia and Europe through Kazakhstan are increasing every
year. In this regard, systematic work is required to develop infrastructure and
update the rolling stock. To that end, in the next three years, new railway
lines with a total length of over 1,000 kilometers will be constructed, and
more than 550 locomotives as well as passenger and freight cars will be
procured. At the same time, the modernization of operating main railway
networks with a total length of nearly 5,000 kilometers is now underway,” said
Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov.
