Elvira Kadyrova
Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ) has launched container rail shipments between China and Turkmenistan.
The first train, consisting of 44 forty-foot containers loaded with general cargo, has left from Jinannan rail station (Shandong province).
The train will travel via the Kazakh border crossings of Khorgos, Altynkol and Bolashak (border with Turkmenistan) and will head to the Turkmen station of Gypjak (26 km north of Ashgabat).
In total, the route from China to the destination point is expected to take eight days.
According to KTZ, the advantages of the new container service for customers are the optimal delivery time of goods from China to the markets of Turkmenistan. The new connectivity will open up additional opportunities for trade and economic cooperation and will contribute to the growth of cargo flows.
The option of rail transit of goods from Turkmenistan to China via Kazakhstan has been tried out in October 2019. The container train with potassium went to China’s Qingdao from the Turkmen station of Kelif.
The project was implemented jointly by Chinese railway operators, Turkmen center for transport and logistics, JSC “KTZ Express” and JSC “NC KTZ”. /// nCa, 14 May 2020