At a Government session, Minister of Transport Nurlan Sauranbayev reported on the current state and development plans of Kazakhstan’s railway industry. He noted that the sector consists of three key components – the railway network, locomotives, and wagons, with systematic work being carried out for each of them.

The main railway network has a total length of 16,000 km. At the same time, its wear level has reached 57%, which negatively affects the speed and safety of train traffic, while the infrastructure operates at the limit of its capacity. In this regard, in order to improve the efficiency and sustainability of transportation, by 2029 it is planned to construct new and modernize 5,000 km of tracks. In addition, repair works will cover 11,000 km.

At present, construction works are underway on five key projects: Dostyk–Mointy, Almaty bypass line, Darbaza–Maktaral, Mointy–Kyzylzhar, and Bakhty–Ayagoz. It is expected that two major projects – the Dostyk–Mointy section and the Almaty bypass line – will be completed ahead of schedule this year. Next year, the new lines Mointy–Kyzylzhar and Darbaza–Maktaral will be commissioned.

In parallel, starting from this year, large-scale modernization of 3,000 km of railway sections has begun, which in effect is equivalent to constructing new tracks. For example, the throughput capacity of the Kyzylzhar–Sekseuil section will increase from 8 to 25 trains, and on the Kandyagash–Tobol section – from 7 to 25 trains. According to the minister, these projects form a full-fledged railway framework of Kazakhstan.

Special attention is paid to the synchronous development of interstate junction points. In recent years, the issues of increasing capacity on the borders with Russia and Uzbekistan have been completely resolved. Thus, at the Saryagash junction, the throughput capacity has increased from 24 to 35 trains. Since July this year, additional trains have begun operating on the Dostyk–Mointy line in the direction of China.

“Kazakhstan’s railways must fully meet the export and import needs of domestic businesses. In the future, the total throughput capacity is planned to be increased to 296 million tons, which means growth of 76%,” the minister noted.

As of today, the locomotive fleet numbers 1,967 units. Within the framework of the renewal program, it is planned to purchase 456 locomotives by 2029. The suppliers are Kazakhstani enterprises – Electric Locomotive Assembly Plant and Locomotive Assembly Plant, as well as the Chinese company CRRC. Currently, the locomotives used in Kazakhstan are modern, efficient, and fully compliant with future transportation requirements.

The third component is the wagon fleet. In Kazakhstan, more than 300 operators are functioning, managing 142,000 freight wagons, which fully cover current needs. The share of JSC “NC “Kazakhstan Temir Zholy” is 41%, and these wagons are actively used on socially significant routes. By 2029, operators plan to purchase more than 7,000 new wagons to maintain and develop the growing freight transportation potential.

Regarding the country’s transit potential, the minister noted that five international railway corridors pass through Kazakhstan, which has allowed the republic to firmly establish its status as an international transit hub. Over the past 10 years, the volume of transportation through our country has doubled and in 2024 reached 27.4 million tons.

Taking into account the ongoing work in the railway industry, by the end of this year the transit volume will reach 33 million tons, and next year it should exceed 54 million tons. By the end of 2029, this figure is planned to reach 67 million tons. According to international experts, by 2035 the volume of transit cargo may reach 100 million tons. The goal is to achieve this indicator earlier than the scheduled date.

To implement the planned measures, a network of Kazakhstani terminals is being formed along the East–West route. Currently, 7 terminals are functioning (Lianyungang, Xi’an, Dostyk, Khorgos, Kuryk, Aktau, and Almaty). In the near future, 2 more terminals will open – Selyatino and Svisloch. In addition, work is underway to develop 5 more terminals in the future.

According to the minister, Kazakhstan today offers the world a transit product consisting of three components: delivery time, tariff, and service. On the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), the delivery time has already been reduced from 53 to 17 days. Tariffs have remained stable over the past three years. To improve the quality of services, digital technologies are being introduced, which made it possible to reduce the processing time from 8 hours to 30 minutes and ensure real-time tracking of train movements. In the near future, preparation of an Intergovernmental Agreement will begin for the further development of the TITR route.

#Government session #Logistics #President's instruction #Transport

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