KTZ Organizes First Multimodal Shipment from Japan to Kazakhstan

KTZ Express, a subsidiary of JSC NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, has expanded the geography of its international freight operations by adding a new route from East Asia. For the first time, the company organized the multimodal transportation of containers carrying chemical products from the Japanese port of Kobe to Almaty.

The total length of the route is approximately 6,000 km. Transportation includes both sea and rail stages. From Kobe, the containers travel approximately 1,620 km by sea to the Chinese port of Lianyungang. After customs clearance, the cargo is transferred to rail transport and travels another approximately 4,400 km to Almaty.

At the Kazakhstan-China border, the containers pass through the Altynkol checkpoint. There, the cargo is transferred to rolling stock compatible with the Kazakhstan railway gauge, after which it continues to its final destination.

Lianyungang is an important link in the logistics route and forms part of KTZ Express's transport infrastructure in East Asia. The port is home to the Kazakhstan-China International Logistics Company in Lianyungang, a joint terminal project between Kazakhstan and China.

The project was launched in 2014 as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. Through the terminal, Kazakhstan's freight flows gain access to international maritime routes connecting Kazakhstan and China with East Asian markets.

KTZ noted that the launch of transportation along the Kobe–Almaty route demonstrates that the established transport connectivity can be used not only for cargo originating from China. The route also makes it possible to connect other countries in the Pacific region to overland transport corridors running through China and Kazakhstan.