Elvira Kadyrova
In a view of coronavirus pandemic and forced restrictions taken in the transport sector by countries, cargo traffic along one of the most important transport routes in Central Asia namely the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway has slightly decreased.
Thus, the performance data for Q1 2020 says near 273 thousand tons of various cargoes were transported along the line Serkhetyaka (Turkmenistan) – Bolashak (Kazakhstan), the “Delovoy Kazakhstan” newspaper writes. The decline is 31,451 tons compared with the same period of 2019.
The Covid-19 outbreak has disrupted routine connectivity between producers and consumers around the world and has made major changes in the transport and logistics business. At the same time, as the newspapers notes, the cargo flows tend to shift to rail transport.
During the reported period, 105 trains (4,725 cars) carrying 27,385 tons of cargo arrived from Turkmenistan, while 97 trains (4,392 cars) with 255,574 tons of cargo have left from Kazakhstan.
The export food items such as wheat, flour, milling products, barley, oats, and lentils are exported to Afghanistan and Turkmenistan via the Bolashak station.
In addition, container trains on the Altynkol – Bolashak – Serkhetyaka (Turkmenistan) – Akyayla (Turkmenistan) route also pass through Bolashak. Auto parts, electronic equipment, and household goods are transported along this route.
In 2019, totally 1 million tons of cargo have been transshipped via KTI railway. However, the operating capacity of the corridor is 10 times higher and can reach up to 12 million tons of cargo per year.
The Kazakhstan-Iran-Turkmenistan railway corridor was launched in 2014. To increase the logistics attractiveness of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan route, the railway authorities of both countries systematically lower the fares. /// nCa, 4 May 2020