Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan launch direct rail service
The state company "Uztemiryulkonteyner" has announced the launch of a new logistics route, dispatching the first container block train from Uzbekistan's capital to the Kazakh station Altynkol, located near the Chinese border. This initiative is a practical step toward strengthening the transport and transit potential in Central Asia, as outlined in previous interstate agreements.
The train, consisting of 57 flatbed platforms for carrying consolidated cargo, recently departed from Tashkent. The 1,300-kilometer route to the border hub, which is part of the larger Khorgos logistics center, is expected to take approximately two days. This corridor was made possible through a close partnership with the Kazakh operator "Kedentransservice."
The project is built on a memorandum of cooperation signed in February between "Uztemiryulkonteyner" and "Kedentransservice." This agreement, which followed a meeting between the heads of the parent national companies, Uzbekistan Temir Yollari and Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, formalized the parties' intentions to develop joint transport and freight forwarding services and establish new routes for container block trains.
A key economic aspect of the agreement is that the Kazakh side will ensure the return loading of the wagons heading back to Tashkent. This arrangement is designed to significantly increase the profitability and efficiency of cargo transportation by eliminating empty return trips.
This initiative is part of a broader strategy to diversify and expand transport corridors in the region. For instance, in March, the transport agencies of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan already collaborated to launch the first container train from India to Kazakhstan. That multimodal route, which included sea and rail segments, spanned almost 5,900 kilometers from the Indian port of Mundra through Iran's Bandar Abbas to Astana, with an average transit time of about 25 days.
It's important to note that the Altynkol station and the Chinese Khorgos station, located on opposite sides of the border, use different railway gauges. Kazakhstan and other CIS countries use a 1520 mm gauge, while China and Europe use 1435 mm. This difference requires a complex technological process at the border crossing, either by transferring containers from one set of platforms to another or by replacing the wheelsets on the wagons.
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