First Gansu-Tashkent Rail Cargo Route Opens

A China-Europe Freight Train loaded with household appliances set off from Lanzhou, the capital city of Northwest China’s Gansu Province to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

The Commodities, which originated from South China’s Guangdong Province weigh 230 tonnes with a total value of 2.6 million U.S. dollars. They will be transported to Kashgar in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region by Train and loaded onto trucks to Osh, Kyrgyzstan via Road, and finally reach Uzbekistan’s Tashkent by Train.

The whole journey is about 4,380 km long and takes seven to ten days, saving about five days compared to other routes.

The returning train is expected to carry 525 tonnes of cotton, imported from Uzbekistan.

The combined road-rail routes solve the problem of the highly mountainous regions bordering Western China being inaccessible by rail. China has instead been investing billions into high-altitude road passes, and can now combine both methodologies into one route. This opens up the lucrative markets of Central Asia, all of which have been enjoying GDP growth rates of 5-7% in recent years.

Related Reading

• Xi’an-Kathmandu Combined Road-Rail Cargo Service Launched
• Investing In Emerging Belt & Road Initiative Stock Markets In Central Asia
• Carrefour To Open First Central Asian Stores In Uzbekistan