Kazakhstan Rail Freight Grows on Export, Transit Boost

Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) announced that its freight volume reached 287.8 million tons in the first 11 months of 2025.

Total freight transportation across the KTZ network increased by 11.5 million tons, or 4%, compared to the same period last year, The Caspian Post reports, citing Kazakh media.

Rail export shipments grew by 6%, totaling 80.2 million tons. Coal transportation rose by 8% to 31.2 million tons, driven mainly by increased deliveries to Russia, the European Union, and Central Asia.

Grain shipments surged by 36% to 9.7 million tons, a rise of 2.6 million tons.

Transport to Central Asian countries jumped 32% to 5.6 million tons, including 4.0 million tons to Uzbekistan (up 31%), 1.3 million tons to Tajikistan (up 19%), and 300,000 tons to Kyrgyzstan, marking a threefold increase.

Furthermore, grain transportation to Iran doubled (800,000 tons).

Meanwhile, transit transportation through the Russian territory grew by 3.2 times to 2.2 million tons. This includes major traffic gains through the ports, with volume via the Black Sea increasing by 51% (350,000 tons) and freight via the Baltic ports nearly doubling with a 96% rise (161,000 tons). Shipments directed to the Baltic countries and ports showed exceptional growth, reaching 724,000 tons, an 8-fold increase.

Additionally, 4.2 million tons of processed grain products and compound feed were shipped (+57%). This significant rise was driven by the surge in compound feed supplies to China, reaching 2.9 million tons, nearly a 4-fold year-over-year growth.