Kazakhstan is actively modernizing its railway infrastructure to meet the growing demand for freight transportation between China and Europe. This process has intensified against the backdrop of changes in global logistics caused by the war in Iran and the need to avoid routes through Russia.
This is reported by Finway
Growing importance of the Trans-Caspian transport route
In recent years, the Trans-Caspian transport route, which exceeds 4,250 km in length, has gained particular significance. It passes through the territories of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, with the Kazakh section being the longest. Following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, freight carriers have increasingly turned to this route to avoid transit through Russia. According to international investment companies, the volume of freight transported via the Trans-Caspian route has increased nearly tenfold since then.
“Chinese clients have shown more interest in overland delivery than by sea due to reliability and predictable timelines,” said Talghat Aldibergenov, CEO of the Kazakh railway operator KTZ.
Investments and infrastructure projects
According to Aldibergenov, Kazakhstan plans to invest about $10 billion in railway infrastructure development by 2030. Almost half of this amount has already been spent. In particular, in 2026, KTZ will build 900 km of new railway lines, including a new 300-kilometer route from Ayagoz to Bakhti to China. This will create a third railway crossing at the border with China, significantly increasing the capacity of the route.
Once all projects are completed, it is expected that the railway capacity between Kazakhstan and China will increase to 100 million tons of cargo per year by 2030. Currently, this figure stands at about 55 million tons.
Capacity expansion is also taking place along the entire Trans-Caspian route. In the first quarter of this year, 173 trains passed through the route, each carrying 55 containers. The target for the entire year is 600 trains, and by 2027 this figure could increase by another 67%.
Additionally, over the next decade, the company plans to acquire hundreds of new locomotives, six cargo ships for transportation across the Caspian Sea, as well as a cargo plane. There are also plans to expand port capacities both in China and in European countries, which will facilitate even more efficient transportation of goods between the East and the West.