Winds, snow and -20 degrees Celcius, but the trains keep running
While the Lunar Year has officially kicked off and the people in Europe have left their holidays behind, we are finding ourselves in the midst of winter. In Kazakhstan and some parts of China, this...Read more
FESCO enters 2023 with an appetite for records
In early January, FESCO’s rail operations reached a new record high. The company managed to dispatch 53 container trains in just a week from the Vladivostock region towards Central and Western Russia. The previous-now broken-...Read more
First Vietnam-China-Kazakhstan route opens
The first route from Vietnam to Kazakhstan was launched on 31 December. The train departed from Pingxiang Railway Station in Guangxi, in southern China, and reached the Xi’an dry port, in the east of the...Read more
Prices for transit through Kazakhstan will remain stable in 2023
At the European Silk Road Summit (ESRS) held last week in Duisburg, the increase in Kazakhstan’s transit fees was a hot topic for Chinese and European rail freight players. Sadvakkas Seitzhanov, general manager of Kazakhstan...Read more
First stone for second track railway line to Alashankou, China
The railway line between Alashankou and Jinghe in China is to have a second track. On 30 November, the foundation stone was laid, lauding the official start of construction. The second track means a significant...Read more
From Finland to Kazakhstan via Hamburg: this is how
Nurminen Logistics has set up a service to Kazakhstan via the Middle Corridor, in cooperation with Kazakh State Railways (KTZE). The service is a combination of sea and rail transport: from Helsinki to Hamburg by...Read more
RZD to offer discounts on the Moscow-Mumbai corridor
Russian Railways (RZD) will offer a 20 per cent discount for the transportation of containers along the eastern branch of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). The discount will be valid throughout 2023.Read more
Alstom-KTZ extend locomotive supply partnership to tackle shortages
Alstom and Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ) expanded their existing partnership with an agreement foreseeing the supply of 160 KZ8A electric locomotives by the first to the latter. For KTZ, this agreement is pivotal since it could...Read more
Kazakhstan’s first polypropylene plant chose rail for exports
Kazakhstan’s first polypropylene (PP) plant will use rail to export the product internationally. The first train left the new facility on Friday 18 November, as KazMunayGas (KMG), the national oil and gas company, pointed out.Read more
Kazakhstan lays second track on railway line to China
Kazakhstan has started with the construction of a second track on the railway line leading to the city of Dostyk, close to the border with China. This should increased the capacity of the crucial line...Read moreRussian Railways asks Kazakhstan for lower transit tariffs
Russian Railways has asked Kazakhstan’s railway company to reduce the transit tariffs for the transportation of agricultural products, including grain. It has been in negotiations with Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) since September this year. This...Read more
Iran and Kazakhstan test new sea-rail service to the port of Bandar Abbas
Iran and Kazakhstan agreed on starting a test run at the beginning of 2023 for a multimodal sea-rail freight service to give landlocked Kazakhstan a connection to the Persian Gulf. The two countries are forming...Read more
6,000 China-Europe trains via Khorgos mark important milestone
On Monday, 8 November, a train leaving the Khorgos dry port in Kazakhastan marked the 6,000 train trip through this border point in 2022. The milestone was reached more than a month earlier than last...Read more
A 3rd railway port between China and Kazakhstan: where is it?
A third cross-border railway port will be constructed between China and Kazakhstan. The facility will be situated between the Baktu port in Tacheng, Xinjiang and Abai Oblast in Kazakhstan, north of the two existing rail...Read more
EDB: ‘INSTC potential not limited to Russian involvement’
The frenzy noted lately around the International North-South Transport Corridor is not only limited to Russia’s benefits through it. The INSTC has been projected as the Russian lifeline during the past months after the western...Read more
RZD launches first regular train Moscow-India
The consecutive pilot services along diverse routes of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) in the past months are finally bearing fruits for the Russian Railways. RZD launched the first regular INSTC container train service...Read more
Silk Road prices through Kazakhstan increase after relative stability
The new Silk road services transiting through Kazakhstan are about to experience a substantial price increase. KTZ – Freight Transportation, the country’s national freight carrier, will raise the costs for cargo transport and empty wagons...Read moreAll good on the Altynkol front, says KTZ
UPDATEThe disturbance caused to Silk Road traffic a few days ago because of an alleged malfunction of three cranes in Altynkol seems to have been resolved. Industry sources say there is no specific update, and...Read moreKhorgos terminal doubles capacity, a solution to congested borders?
The Khorgos Gateway dry port in Kazakhstan commissioned a new set of 1435mm rail tracks in its facilities. With the new tracks, the busy terminal will now be able to process more transiting trains coming...Read more