Rail

During the first four months of 2024, the volume of container traffic along the multimodal land-sea corridor ILSTC (International Land-Sea Trade Corridor) exceeded the 300 thousand TEU mark. This continues the growth trend that began in 2015, when the creation of ILSTC was launched as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. Amid this development, ILSTC is emerging as a key transport bridge between China’s western regions and ASEAN countries, providing important trade links.

In Riga, the capital of Latvia, an official ceremony was held on May 21, 2024, marking the start of construction of the Rail Baltica high-speed rail line. Construction in Latvia will be led by the ERB Rail consortium, which includes leading European companies: Eiffage Génie Civil SAS (France), Budimex (Poland) and Rizzani de Eccher (Italy), with work coordinated by Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas. It is planned to lay 230 km of railway track, build 175 engineering structures, 11 crossings for wild animals, 81 road and 32 railway bridges, as well as 42 overpasses.

The signing of a memorandum on the development of the country between JSC NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, PSA, KPMC Ltd and G-trans Service became a key event during the state visit of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Singapore. A document on the settlement of a strategic partnership between KTZ and the PSA, focused on the development of the transport and transit potential of Kazakhstan, aimed at the joint venture KPMC Ltd for the development of the trans-Caspian route.

The first train with 20 containers passed through the reconstructed section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, departing from the Absheron Logistics Center to Baku on May 20, 2024. Completion of the reconstruction of the 183 km Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi section in early May 2024 included the construction of a 110-hectare logistics complex in the Akhalkalaki region, Georgia.

From May 14 to 18 of this year, the delegation of KTZ Express JSC took part in the working trip of the Minister of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan M.K. Karabaev. to the Baltic countries – Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. During the trip, a bilateral meeting was organized with the Minister of Transport of Latvia K. Brishkens, as well as an acquaintance with the activities of the Freeport of Riga and the construction work of “Rail Baltica”.

Rail Cargo Group (RCG) has extended its presence in Serbia with the establishment of a joint venture focusing on freight forwarding services. Teaming up with Transfera d.o.o., Serbia’s second-largest forwarding company, RCG now holds 51% of the shares. This move signals RCG’s commitment to offering comprehensive logistics solutions in Serbia, complementing its existing transit transport services.

Just two months after a barge collided with the railway swing bridge over the River Hunte near Elsfleth, halting rail traffic, Deutsche Bahn has swiftly completed repairs, restoring crucial connectivity between Berne and Elsfleth. The rapid reconstruction utilized heavy equipment like floating cranes and dredgers to dismantle the damaged bridge and install a temporary structure, ensuring minimal disruption to freight and passenger services.

A meeting was held in Almaty on the program for improving cargo transportation, which was attended by heads of branches of road departments, regional transportation control centers and representatives of shippers. More than 50 representatives of small and medium-sized businesses, including RZH Brands LLP, NEK Terminal LLP, and NSK Trans Logistics LLP, took part in the discussion.

Gleb Shilov, Director of Sales Single Container at DB Cargo Eurasia, noted that the company has been one of the leading road operators in the field of container transportation between Europe, China and Central Asia since 2008. The turning point came in 2011 when they opened the first regular rail route between Chongqing and Duisburg. From 2022 to 2023, the company launched full-fledged trains connecting China and Europe in both directions, with impressive travel times.

Representatives of STK KAZLOGISTICS met with the management of the branch of NC KTZ JSC – the Directorate of Automation and Digitalization (CDAC), KTZ – Freight Transportation LLP, and Ktzh Express JSC. At the meeting, issues of automation and digitalization of railway transport were discussed.