It is beneficial for Russia that the new China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway line be launched as soon as possible. Due to it, it will be possible to unload the Trans-Siberian Railway, which is experiencing problems, Sergey Pavlov, deputy director general of the Russian Railways (RZD) said, Podrobno.uz reports.
Russian Railways expect to take part in the construction and operation of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. When the new route is operational, it will be able to unload the Trans-Siberian Railway, which passes through all of Russia, he noted.
"We have very good communications with Uzbekistan through Kazakhstan since Soviet times. The road is in excellent condition, and we could send part of the goods to China that are now going through Zabaikalsk to Kashgar, the largest Chinese city on the Silk Road with access to western Asia," he said.
"This will improve logistics and unload the Trans-Siberian Railway, the load on which is now growing. Only since the beginning of the year, cargo transportation to the West has decreased by 70%, to the East has increased by 64%. We are ready to participate both in the construction and operation of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. This topic is being discussed now, and we will come to cooperation,” Pavlov added.
He also noted that the length of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway will be 454 km. After the branch is put into operation, the volume of transportation along it by the project participants may reach 5 million tons. If Russia joins the project, these volumes can grow to 15 million tons. Now Russian Railways export 50 million tons of cargo to the East.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
June 14, 2023