Train of Kazakhstan's flour heads to Afghanistan along new route

KOSTANAY. KAZINFORM - A train loaded with flour has departed today from the station of Kostanay to go through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Kazinform correspondent reports.

Based on the information received from Kazakhstan Temir Zholy National Company, the train consists of over 50 railroad cars transporting 3,300 tons of cargoes. The distance of the route from Kostanay through Bolashak to Serhetabat (Turkmenistan) is more than 3,500 kilometers.

"Kazakhstan is one of the world's top grain producers. The main purpose of the railway is to ensure timely and high-quality transportation of agricultural products, including this kind of strategic cargoes. The development of transportation along the new route will help increase Kazakhstan's transit potential, reduce trip distance and accelerate the return of train vehicles by 2-2.5 times," said Mukhtar Zhambulov, Acting Deputy General Director for Operations of KTZ - Freight Transportation JSC.

According to the press service of the national railway company, the country has already exported 4.2 million tons of grain since the start of 2018. This is 56% higher than a year ago. As to flour, the exports increased by 8% year-on-year to 1.2 million tons.

It should be mentioned that Kazakhstan's agricultural products are supplied mainly to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Iran.