Kazakhstan transit rises 13.1% to 32.6 million tonnes: what the headline misses

Transit cargo crossing Kazakhstan reached 32.6 million tonnes in January–September, 13.1% more than a year earlier, Deputy Transport Minister Maksat Kaliakparov said on October 13. Transit is freight passing through the country between other markets; it creates demand for tracks, terminals and transport services.

Railways carried 241.7 million tonnes of freight overall, up 3%. Road transport moved 270.4 million tonnes, up 5.6%. These totals should not be added to transit as separate, non-overlapping flows: transit is part of freight carried by the relevant transport modes.

The government points to new rail lines and upgrades to existing sections. It also reports 101 renovated stations. For freight corridors, track capacity, border processing and container transfer times are especially consequential.

Tonnage describes scale but not delivery time or the value retained by the economy per shipment. Comparable data on transit time, cost, reliability and route utilisation would show more clearly whether the corridors are becoming competitive.

Source: https://primeminister.kz/ru/news/tranzitnye-perevozki-cherez-kazahstan-vyrosli-na-131-31994