The Middle Corridor is typically used to transport freight destined for Europe. Kazakh Railways (KTZ) has taken it a step further, and used the route transatlantically: it sent goods all the way to Houston, Texas, USA.
While some seem to be going through a transatlantic breakup, KTZ is now for the first time bridging the pond separating Europe and North America. Its subsidiary, KTZ Express, “has expanded the geography of transportation in the field of international logistics by completing an export shipment of non-raw material cargo to the USA. The implementation of this project opens up new prospects for Kazakhstan’s exports and expands the country’s trade and logistics capabilities.”
The freight train left from Kazakhstan’s largest city and former capital Almaty. From there, it made its way to the Black Sea port of Poti, in Georgia. Finally, the freight crossed the entire Atlantic before arriving in Houston on 16 February.
“In this shipment, KTZ Express provided a full range of transport and logistics services, including the organisation of the first mile, cargo insurance, provision of containers and preliminary declaration. This event became an important milestone, confirming the readiness of KTZ Express to provide reliable and high-quality service in any route direction, which opens up new opportunities for Kazakhstani manufacturers to enter world markets”, the company says.
Good start of 2025
At the same time, KTZ has had a rather successful start of the year. Its loading volumes grew by 7,3 per cent in January and amounted to 21,7 million tonnes. Exports reached 8 million tonnes, 13,4 per cent more than January 2024. Domestically, freight transport grew by 4 per cent to 13,7 million tonnes.
– Coal: +5,2 per cent, to 9,5 million tonnes
– Solid fuel: domestically grew by 2,4 per cent, to 6,7 million tonnes. Exports grew by 12,7 per cent, to 2,7 million tonnes.
– Grain: +35 per cent to over 1 million tonnes: exports grew by 35 per cent and domestic transportation by 33 per cent
– Oil: +4 per cent to 1,7 million tonnes
– Ferrous metals: +10,6 per cent to 364 thousand tonnes
– Chemical fertilisers: + 18 per cent to 445 thousand tonnes
– Iron and manganese ore: +7,8 per cent, to 1,6 million tonnes
– Construction materials: +9,3 per cent, to 777 thousand tonnes