Container shipments from China along TITR rose 33 times in 2024 - Kazakhstan Railways
In May 2023, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev participated in a televised conference of launching the construction of a terminal in Xi’an, in Shaanxi province of China. The terminal started operating in February 2024. The volume of container shipments from China along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route increased by 33 times since its opening, Kazinform News Agency learned from Kazakhstan Temir Zholy.
Xi’an is China’s key transit hub and the country’s largest dry port. More than 30% of container trains operating to Europe are formed here. Xi'an receives approximately 40% of imports from the CIS countries
The annual capacity of the terminal is 133,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit). In 2024, the volume of transit shipments through this hub exceeded 276,000 tons (around 23,000 TEUs were processed and shipped). In January-April 2025, 10,524 TEUs or 126,288 tons of cargo were shipped and processed. By 2030, this figure is expected to reach 83,000 TEU per year.
The integrated approach ensures ease of delivery for customers and enables the use of first and last mile technologies – from door to door. The main shipping partners are major producers of cars and their components – BYD, Geely, Chery, Honggi as well as the manufacturers of electronic equipment, metal products and consolidated cargo shippers. Projected capacity of the terminal which covers the area of 6.7 hectares (with container freight stations located on 43,534 square meters and roofed warehouse of 4,680 square meters), allows to handle 133,000 TEU per annum. The terminal consolidates and handles a significant part of cargo almost from all regions of China and organizes delivery of goods by railroad and motor transport to a wide range of foreign countries, including Central Asia, TITR member states and Russia. It also offres cargo storage, insurance, customs support and other services.
Earlier it was reported that Iran and Kazakhstan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to construct an exclusive port terminal and logistics facility at Shahid Rajaee Port backshore area in Bandar Abbas, located in southern Iran.