{"id":427153,"date":"2026-05-13T20:01:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T10:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=71152"},"modified":"2026-05-13T20:01:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T10:01:47","slug":"turkmenistan-modernises-its-railways-to-become-a-new-middle-corridor-gateway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=427153","title":{"rendered":"Turkmenistan modernises its railways to become a new Middle Corridor gateway"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Middle Corridor, a rail connection between China and Europe, is mostly constrained by its various bottlenecks. One of these bottlenecks lies within transshipment at the Caspian Sea ports of Kazakhstan. An easy remedy could be to simply add another port to the corridor, which is what Turkmenistan might be looking to do \u2014 by renovating the majority of its rail network.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Turkmenistan has opened an international tender for a feasibility study to upgrade the railway to its Caspian Sea port in Turkmenbashi.<\/p>\n

“During the modernisation of the [capital city] Ashgabat\u2013Turkmenbashi railway, it is planned to operate passenger transportation at a speed of 160 kilometres per hour and freight at a speed of 90 kilometres per hour as well as increase the capacity of day and night trains to 35 pairs, and set the weight of each pair of wheels at 28 tonnes\u201d, rail minister Mammet Akmammedov stated.<\/p>\n

Akmammedov added that Turkmenistan will also modernise its railway to Turkmenabad, a city on the border with Uzbekistan, according to Russian media. This is significant, not only because this covers a huge part of the Turkmen rail network, but primarily because it could open up a direct modernised rail connection from China to the Turkmenbashi port once the CKU line is also finished.<\/p>\n

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Shorter, but not ideal<\/h2>\n

A possible Middle Corridor route through Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan could be substantially shorter than the current route. Now, trains mostly enter Kazakhstan directly from China and cross the Caspian Sea via Aktau or Kuryk.<\/p>\n

The biggest limitation for the Kyrgyzstan-Turkmenistan route will likely be capacity and costs \u2014 the CKU line is projected to have restricted capacity due to the difficult landscape. This will also translate into lower maximum train weight and the need for double traction on slopes, hindering operational efficiency. By contrast, Kazakhstan has a flat landscape and an already developed railway network.<\/p>\n

While Turkmenistan gears up for expanded rail capacity to its port, a new container vessel for Caspian maritime operations is getting ready for deployment in Azerbaijan. This ship will operate, indeed, between Baku and Turkmenbashi.<\/p>\n

“This is a significant event and a clear example of growing confidence in the Middle Corridor. Following the Gadamli, a second vessel is planned to be launched in the coming months. Both vessels have a capacity of 240 TEU. I believe this will occur by the end of autumn 2026\u201d, said Eldar Salakhov, Director General of Baku International Sea Port LLC.<\/p>\n