Kazakhstan builds second track on railway line to China

Kazakhstan has begun construction of a second track on a railway line leading to the city of Dostyk, near the border with China. This should increase the capacity of the key line by five times: from 12 pairs of trains to 60 pairs per day. It is reported by Railway Supply magazine with reference to RailFreight.

The project includes a railway line from Dostyk to Moiynta in the Karaganda region. The line is actively used to transport goods to and from China. Construction began on November 17th. “This will completely solve the transport problems of Kazakh exporters in this direction,” said the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Alikhan Smailov.

Maglev train in a low vacuum tube

In addition, Dostyk is adjacent to Alashankou, one of the main border crossings for Eurasian traffic. Thus, the increase in capacity will also benefit the New Silk Road.

For Kazakhstan, the potential for increasing transit traffic is of strategic importance. President Tokayev noted that “over the past five years, container transit traffic in the country has increased 4.4 times; this year, the turnover of export goods exceeded 74 billion ton-kilometers, an increase of 11 percent compared to last year.”

Demand continues to grow, but the infrastructure cannot cope with it, so the construction of new infrastructure will solve the urgent needs of Kazakhstan.

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