JSC “Transport and Logistics Center of Turkmenistan” (TULM) together with JSC “KTZ Express” successfully launched a test container train on the China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran route. This was the result of four-party negotiations between representatives of the railways of China, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran, which took place on April 23-24, 2024 in Beijing.

As reported by TULM, during the meeting the parties agreed on a full schedule of container trains, preferential tariff rates and decided to form an expert group to develop a fixed schedule. An important achievement was the establishment of a cargo transportation period on this route of 15 days.

A test train consisting of 45 forty-foot containers with auto parts successfully departed along the Xi'an-Altynkol-Bolashak-Etrek-Tehran route. In the opposite direction, an Iranian export train with 50 containers of gypsum powder was organized along the Qom-Etrek-Bolashak-Altynkol-YiWu route.

The route's peculiarity is the need to reload containers from a broad gauge to a narrow gauge and back at the Etrek railway terminal. This technical solution permits for efficient transportation between countries with different railway gauges.

The resumption of this route is of strategic importance for the development of trade relations between China and the Middle East countries, and also strengthens Turkmenistan’s position as an important transit hub in the region.