Two new rail projects stand to strengthen rail ties between Russia and Kazakhstan. The countries will likely be working together on a new rail terminal in Astana, the Kazakh capital city. Meanwhile, Russia is building an additional railway to the Kazakh border to alleviate pressure on other lines.
The Astana terminal would be a cooperation effort between Kazakh Railways (KTZ) and the Russian logistics company FinInvest. The two signed a memorandum of intent to build the terminal, which is supposed to be used for container traffic.
“The sides are considering building a modern multimodal transport and logistics center in Astana. It will help enhance the transit of Russian cargoes via Kazakhstan”, the two companies declared. Kazakhstan sees the terminal as a way to boost its potential as a transit country for rail freight, a role which it is actively pursuing.
New line to Kazakhstan
At the same time, Russia is working on improving its rail freight capacity to Kazakhstan. A new railway, valued at no less than one billion dollars, is being built between the towns of Sibay and Novorudnaya. It will be around 164 kilometres long and link up with the Kazakh network.
The new line is supposed to help reduce the traffic burden on the Kartalinsk and Orsk rail nodes, and shorten the distance from Russia’s Bashkiria region to Kazakhstan by 250 kilometres. By 2035, it is planned to reach a capacity of 14 million tonnes annually.