The volume of freight transportation across the network of Kazakhstan's Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) JSC reached 184.4 million tons in January-July 2026, increasing by 3.2% compared to the same period of 2025, the company's press service said. "Domestic transportation reached 97.2 million tons, while the volume of export transportation increased by 6.5% compared to the same period of last year, reaching 53.4 million tons," the company said. During the reporting period, 60.4 million tons of hard coal were transported across the KTZ network, up 3.5% compared to January-July 2025.
Of the total volume, 40.9 million tons were delivered to Kazakh consumers, 3% more than a year earlier. Coal exports amounted to 18.8 million tons, increasing by 3.1%. Positive dynamics were also recorded in grain transportation.
In the first seven months of 2026, 8.1 million tons of grain were transported, 10% more than in the same period of 2025. Grain exports increased by 10.4% to 6.3 million tons, while 1.8 million tons were transported within Kazakhstan, up 8.6% year-on-year. The volume of transportation of milling products in export traffic amounted to 1.3 million tons, increasing by 14%.
KTZ also reported that 12.5 million tons of non-ferrous ores and 11.3 million tons of construction materials were transported across its network in January-July 2026. Growth was recorded across several key cargo categories. Iron ore transportation amounted to 13.8 million tons, up 16.6%; petroleum products - 15.2 million tons, up 1.5%; crude oil - 1.2 million tons, up 3%; and other cargoes - 36.9 million tons, up 4.2%.
The growth in rail freight transportation comes amid the continued expansion of Kazakhstan's role in regional transit and logistics, particularly along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor. Kazakhstan's Vice Minister of Trade and Integration Aset Nusupov told Trend that the route has become one of the country's key strategic assets over the past decade. "The figures speak for themselves.
Over three years, from 2022 to 2025, the volume of transportation along the route increased more than fivefold. By the end of 2025, total cargo traffic reached 4.5–4.7 million tonnes, of which container transportation accounted for 76,900 TEUs, 36% more than a year earlier," Nusupov said. Source: https://www.trend.az/casia/kazakhstan/4217496.html © 2026 Trend News Agency.
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