Train traffic on China-Kazakhstan

New Silk Road trains crossing the China-Kazakhstan border have increased by 14.6 per cent till May this year, with an overall volume of 5.903 trains. Alashankou terminal contributed to the volume with 2.714 trains whereas traffic via Khorgos terminal amounted to 3.189 with a year-on-year growth of 10.4 per cent and 18.4 per cent, respectively. This was revealed by China Railway, the national railway company of China.

When talking about New Silk Road trains, the China-Kazakhstan border in Xinjiang plays a significant role as the majority of the volume transported between Europe and China is reloaded here. Khorgos terminal ranked first as the busiest cross-border terminalin the country. It processed over 7.000 China Europe Express trains in 2022.

Alashankou, which used to be the busiest border crossing, is currently undergoing renovation for capacity expansion and therefore handled less trains. Currently, the Alashankou terminal has the capacity of handling 17 trains per day, 21 at its best scenario, with an estimated capacity of digesting 200.000 TEU per year. This resulted in cargo being redirected to the Khorgos border crossing this year, specifically cargo between China and Central Asian countries (except for Kazakhstan).