Kazakhstan and India have launched a new rail service between one another. Twelve 20-foot containers with ceramic tiles departed from the port of Mundra in India and will arrive in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana in 25 to 30 days.
The new service is a cooperative effort by Kazakh Railways subsidiary Kedentransservice, the Uzbek operator UztemirYulKonteyner and Transport and Logistics Centre of Turkmenistan. After a sea leg between Mundra and the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, the containers will continue their journey northward. They will cross Iran into Turkmenistan, and then into Kazakhstan.
In total, trains will cover 4,300 kilometres of the route, whereas maritime shipping is responsible for 1,585 kilometres.
INSTC
“The transportation is carried out within the framework of the development of container service along the eastern route of the North-South corridor”, KTZ explains. “This corridor allows to significantly reduce delivery times, costs for the transportation of goods and expand the opportunities of exporters and importers of countries.”
Earlier, KTZ announced a new China – Europe train service that also traverses Turkmenistan and Iran, but in the opposite direction. The first train on that route carries television components that will be delivered in Łódź, Poland.