Paperless Customs on the Middle Corridor

How far from reality is the situation when trains no longer need to stop to go through customs procedures? In Kazakhstan, the first steps have been taken, says IT developer Networks Energy. From the beginning of next year, the new software system will be tested at the most important borders of the country. It is reported by Railway Supply magazine with reference to RailFreight.

Networks Energy is the leading IT company in Kazakhstan in the field of railway logistics. The company is developing an online freight forwarding platform that now covers 95% of all rail traffic in the country. The entire forwarding process is already carried out in a paperless format. By the end of 2022, full integration with Russian Railways has been completed. A significant part of the electronic exchange of bills of lading has also been completed with China. Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan were also involved in the process.

Rail transportation plays a very important role in the transportation of goods through the territory of Kazakhstan. It accounts for a significant part of the economy. The country has a huge territory. The use of railways is much more economically attractive than the use of roads, but there are certain problems with infrastructure. With platform capabilities and emerging AI and machine learning technologies, developers are looking to address these issues.

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Another company, ASA Technologies, has developed customs declaration software that will replace physical customs procedures. All information will be provided digitally, processed digitally using recognition technologies, and eventually shared with interested partners. KTZ asked to develop the software. Customs supported the project, now only government approval remains. This may take two to three months, after which software testing will begin.

The system should replace the complex work that is being done on the borders of Kazakhstan. If you look at the border between Kazakhstan and China, where you need to fill out customs declarations, then this is not the most pleasant place, especially in winter. It is cold here and there is always a strong wind, which makes it unsafe. The wind is so strong that containers can fall over when stacked. It’s not a comfortable place to live, it’s a place where people come to do the work necessary to ease the movement of trains.

Thanks to the digitalization of customs procedures, employees can work remotely. This does not mean that these people will disappear completely. Customs brokers will always be needed. But they can do the work from another city, from the office.

Kazakhstan can practically provide paperless transport throughout the network, but for this all countries on the corridor should be equally interested.

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