Kyrgyzstan is also working on other railways. Construction takes place in the area around the large Issyk-Kul lake. The country could connect this railway, which also links up to the capital city Bishkek and neighbouring Kazakhstan, to the CKU line.

“In the future, under favourable conditions, it is planned to extend it to Kara-Keche, and then also to Makmal, guaranteeing an additional rail connection between the north and south”, said Zhaparov. Makmal will be a key location on the CKU line, since China’s standard 1,435-millimetre gauge and the 1,520-millimetre gauge will meet there. Kyrgyzstan has already finished part of the railway to Kara-Keche.

The railway will have significant benefits to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Both countries are landlocked and stand to profit from diversified trade routes. There are concerns, however, about the railway’s financial costs and benefits. Particularly Kyrgyzstan will need to take on significant debts. Meanwhile, the railway is expected to have limited capacity in the mountainous terrain.

“The signing of the EPC contract marks the transition from strategic agreements to the practical implementation of a large-scale project. We are creating a modern logistics hub that will strengthen the transit potential of Central Asia and become an important link in the Eurasian transport corridors. For us, this is not just a construction project – it is a long-term investment in the development of the regional economy and international trade”, said Silkway CA CEO Daniyar Tiesov.

Portfolio expansion

PTC Holding says that the logistics complex will strengthen the positions of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan as key transit hubs between China, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Europe. It will also complement PTC Holding’s international infrastructure from Dostyk TransTerminal to the multimodal terminal Poti TransTerminal.

The MPLC will occupy an area of 159.4 hectares. The completion of the first phase is scheduled for 2027 and covers an investment of 84 million dollars.

As a result, a new effort to boost and streamline transportation along the Middle Corridor’s southern route is underway. ETRIA can count on sympathy from more than just its members: the railway administrations of China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Türkiye, Austria and Azerbaijan all acknowledged the need for and supported the idea of improving the southern route. They also named the route, which goes through Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye, the ‘Eurasian Transport Route’ (ETR).

“The purpose of establishing the association is to attract extra volumes of the transit cargo, develop integrated logistics products, create a unified technology for transportation processes, implement an efficient tariff policy, and optimise costs along the Eurasian Transport Route”, explains Secretary General of ETRIA, Rashad Majidov.

What’s on the agenda?

In 2026, ETRIA plans to assess current intermodal transportation along the route. It hopes to identify and eliminate bottlenecks and implement IT solutions and digital platforms for transportation management, scheduling, and manage resources and priorities.

ETRIA hopes to attract more members and absorb more countries into the Eurasian intermodal transport ecosystem. That includes countries on the trans-Afghan corridor, China and countries in the CEE region. In the long-term, the association strives to become “an enabler of increased trade and economic prosperity and a driver of growth in the countries benefiting from the ETR.”

Azerbaijan has assumed leadership over ETRIA, which the country sees as a success for its strategy to attract transit freight. It strengthens the position of ADY as one of the main operators in the region, Azerbaijani media write. That turns the country into a “strategic dispatch center where key decisions are made on the organisation of transit [along the ETR]”.

In turn, ADY cultivates a capacity to influence tariff policies, standardise logistics procedures, develop digital platforms for transport coordination and attract international investments in rail projects.

Or is there more at play for countries along the Middle Corridor? Located just south of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan also aims to be part of the cross-Eurasia international trade frenzy. It is rarely seen as a core part of the China-Europe route, since freight can just transit Kazakhstan and pass the entire Central Asian part of the corridor in that way.

Still, Uzbekistan takes a different perspective. Oʻztemiryoʻlkonteyner, the freight forwarding subsidiary of Uzbekistan Railways, explains to RailFreight.com that “Uzbekistan is not merely a transit country within this network; it is steadily positioning itself as an important regional hub.”

Diversification is the strategy

The Middle Corridor provides opportunities for local businesses towards Europe and China. Both directions remain “vital” for Uzbekistan’s trade strategy and regional connectivity, says Mirziyod Mirkhamidov, Chairman of the Board at UTK.

“Our national strategy focuses on diversification of transit routes to ensure resilience and efficiency in regional trade. The objective is to reduce dependence on any single corridor, such as the traditional northern route via Russia, and to enhance the competitiveness of the Middle and Southern corridors”, Mirkhamidov adds.

For Uzbekistan, the Middle Corridor (and other transport corridors) are strategic assets to reduce economic risk. That does not mean that transit income is completely out of the picture, even if Uzbekistan is not currently a key transit country. The CKU (China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan) line, once operational, will substantially shorten the distance between Western China and Uzbekistan, which may result in “some volume reorientation”.

However, adds Mirkhamidov, the CKU railway can also make Uzbekistan a key transit country between East Asia and Europe when it is completed.

The Chinese and the Europeans

The Chinese share Uzbekistan’s optimism for diversification and boosting regional trade. Companies from China “have shown particular enthusiasm” to invest in infrastructure projects, rolling stock supplies and the development of logistics centres in Uzbekistan. “China is one of Uzbekistan’s largest trade partners, and cooperation in railway logistics continues to expand”, notes Mirkhamidov.

Europe has seemingly not quite caught the same level of enthusiasm. However, adds the UTK chairman, “European companies are also paying closer attention to Uzbekistan’s transport potential, driven by the need to diversify global supply chains and establish more reliable overland connections between Asia and Europe.”

Logistics firms, port operators and investors are exploring partnerships in multimodal logistics, warehousing and digital customs systems, Mirkhamidov explains. “While European investors tend to be more cautious, interest is steadily growing as Uzbekistan improves transparency, operational reliability, and the overall investment climate.”

Working on improvements

In order to fulfill the country’s objectives and to boost the country’s trade capacity, Uzbekistan is working on a number of infrastructure projects. One of the most important is the electrification of the Bukhara–Miskin–Urgench–Khiva railway line, which should significantly improve both freight and passenger operations in the western part of the country.

Uzbekistan Railways also intends to renew its rolling stock fleet and upgrade its maintenance facilities by 2033. As for UTK, the freight forwarder is investing in new terminal infrastructure, including the construction of modern freight and logistics centers near major cities in cooperation with international companies in terminal handling and logistics. “These projects aim to increase throughput capacity and reduce congestion on existing lines”, UTK says.

The obstacles to be overcome

Yet, the development of international trade via rail is not without challenges. Border crossings are complex and customs procedures are not harmonised. Each border crossing can introduce delays, additional paperwork and technical standards, explains Mirkhamidov. Overcoming those challenges requires greater regional cooperation and more digitalised customs.

Uzbekistan is addressing infrastructure bottlenecks through targeted investments in electrification, double tracks and new signalling systems. Financing large-scale infrastructure projects poses another challenge, the UTK board chairman adds. Public-private partnerships can help close budgetary gaps, as does cooperation with international financial institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

“Finally, geopolitical uncertainties, changing trade dynamics, and environmental risks continue to influence corridor development. Uzbekistan’s approach to these risks is to maintain multiple transit options, diversify partnerships, and build strong domestic transport capacity to ensure continuity and reliability under any circumstances”, explains Mirkhamidov.

Europe is interested in the Middle Corridor because it bypasses Russia. Naturally, Russia will want to keep as much transit through its territory as possible. It also does not want to be left out of major international corridors for its own trade.

In the presence of Central Asian leaders, Putin expressed his wish for Russia to be integrated into these projects by creating a single network, saying that it could grow international transport volumes through Eurasia by many times – exactly what those countries are after.

DP World says that the future Tashkent terminal will serve as a vital link between Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, and accommodate efficient freight movement through the company’s global network.

Rail-connected dry port

Tashkent Investment, a subsidiary of the Tashkent City Administration, will contribute 15% of the joint venture’s equity capital. The remaining 85% will be held by DP World, for a total investment of 288 million US dollars.

Once fully operational, the Tashkent Multimodal Logistics Terminal will feature a rail-connected dry port for containers and covered freight, customs clearance zones, vehicle storage areas, truck parking and Grade A warehouses and cross-docking facilities, DP World says.

In the first development phase, a 150,000 TEU per year rail terminal will be built alongside a 63,000 square metre warehouse complex. The expected completion date is late 2026 or early 2027. An additional 163,000 square metres of warehousing space is planned if there is demand for it.

Convenient for local and global businesses

“The terminal will be supported by its own dedicated freight railway station, accelerating cargo handling and delivery and helping reduce logistics costs. The hub will have direct access to Uzbekistan’s national rail network, major highways, and Tashkent International Airport, allowing efficient multimodal cargo transfer between road, rail, and air”, DP World writes. The terminal will benefit from customs and tax incentives thanks to its location in a special industrial zone.

“The agreement initiates the development of a transport and logistics hub, which will significantly increase the capital’s production and export potential”, the mayor of Tashkent commented. “With its world-class infrastructure, Tashkent will become even more convenient for both local and global businesses.”

At the same time, Uzbek Railways’ container subsidiary, O’ztemiryo’lkonteyner, has organised a new multimodal service between the two countries. It agreed with the Chinese company Vostosun Group to organise container transportation. First, the containers will leave China by ship to Iran. Once in the Iranian Bandar-Abbas port, they will continue via rail into Turkmenistan, before arriving in Uzbekistan.

KTZ also points out that the volume of rail freight between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, a (currently small) part of which is Chinese traffic, amounted to 11,5 million tonnes in 2024. The company does not have data on how that compares to earlier years, but it likely constitutes growth. In 2023, overall freight turnover between the two countries across all modes of transportation was around 31 million tonnes.

Interestingly, KTZ adds that there was an average of 26 daily freight trains crossing just the Saryagash border crossing into Uzbekistan. By comparison, there were also 26 daily China – Europe freight trains crossing the Khorgos border crossing in the first quarter of 2025. Khorgos is a major rail checkpoint between Kazakhstan and China on the Middle Corridor.

China – Kazakhstan

Moreover, rail freight between China and Kazakhstan has been growing steadily. It has surged by 450% since 2015, with a small drop in pandemic year 2021. KTZ attributes a big part of the increase to its dry port in the Chinese city of Xi’an, from where a lot of freight departs westward.

The doubling of China – Central Asia freight was announced alongside a meeting of Kazakh, Uzbek and Tajik rail representatives. “The meeting focused on the need to ensure timely receipt and export of cargoes and to increase the share of container transportations. A protocol was signed as a result of the meeting”, KTZ explained.

“The event became an important step in the development of multilateral cooperation to form an effective transport corridor China – Kazakhstan – Uzbekistan – Turkmenistan – Iran – Türkiye – Europe”, Kazakh Railways (KTZ) says. “A clear confirmation of the demand for this route was the increase in container traffic on the China – Iran route via Kazakhstan by 2.6 times in January – April 2025 compared to the same period last year.”

Competitive tariff conditions

The countries signed an agreement on “joint actions to intensify container traffic on this route”, says KTZ. “The parties confirmed their readiness to provide comprehensive support for the promotion of the corridor in the international transportation market.”

Tangible agreements entail an approval of competitive tariff conditions and key parameters to organise train traffic. That includes maintaining the “approved total delivery time along the entire route”, KTZ specifies.

China – Iran – Europe

Kazakhstan and China are already involved in sending rail freight to Europe through Iran. In early March, KTZ and China Railway launched a container train with television components to Europe. Rather than taking the more conventional route through Russia and Belarus, the two companies opted to go through Iran instead. That also meant that the train would take a longer time than usual: the expected travel time was 52 to 60 days. As of November 2024, Middle Corridor transit times were approximately 30 days.

Reportedly, the railway is supposed to start at the Turkmen border in the northwest, go through the city of Herat and continue on to Pakistan. Such a route would provide the landlocked Central Asian countries with a direct rail connection to the Indian Ocean.

A long way off still

Besides Kazakhstan, Russia and Uzbekistan have taken tangible steps towards making rail in Afghanistan a reality. The two countries signed an agreement to research the economic viability of various possible routes through Afghanistan, which includes the route that is reportedly getting the Kazakh investment.

More money is most definitely needed to build the railway. The Eurasian Development Bank earlier came to the conclusion that it would cost nearly 5 billion dollars – a long way off still. If Kazakhstan confirms its 500 million dollar investment, the counter will be at around 750 million dollars, based on publicly available information.