Unified operator of the North–South corridor

JSC «RZD» and JSC «Kazakhstan temir zholas» on November 27 concluded an agreement on strategic cooperation. The document was signed during the state visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Kazakhstan.

The companies agreed to coordinate actions aimed at increasing the competitiveness of trans-Eurasian transport, in which the railway infrastructure of Russia and Kazakhstan is involved, the press service of JSC «RZD» reports. 

In particular, the parties will jointly analyse the capacity of the crossing points and adjacent sections between their networks to develop measures for their optimal use and synchronize the development and upgrading of infrastructure to ensure unhindered connectivity through border crossing points. Digitization and paperless technology will continue.

Work will also continue on the creation of a single logistics operator for the development of the eastern branch of the international transport corridor North-South, passing through the territories of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. 

«The new enterprise with the participation of «RZD Logistics» and «KJ Express» will attract additional volumes of cargo, including for transit transport on the direction China - Kazakhstan - Russia - Belarus», - official Telegram channel of RZD reports.

Memorandum on the creation of a single operator of the eastern route MTK North-South between JSC «KJ Express», JSC «RZD Logistics» and OJC «Transport-logistic center of Turkmenistan» was signed in April 2023. This week, the Minister of Transport of Kazakhstan, Marat Karabayev, said that the Russian and Kazakh parties have completed the preparatory procedures, while the Turkmen has not yet expressed its position on participation in the project. 

Turkmenistan is a rather complex negotiating partner, comments the editor-in-chief of Logistan.info Grigory Mikhailov. It is desirable to include him in these agreements, and Ashgabat itself is interested in increasing the flow of cargo through Turkmen territory. But at the same time, Turkmenistan tries to stay away from any agreements that somehow limit its maneuver, notes the expert. 

Transport economy is one of the key areas of Russian-Kazakh cooperation, says expert of the Caspian Institute of Strategic Studies Alexander Karavayev. 

The Russia-Kazakhstan cargo turnover is about 110 million tons per year, which is comparable to the cargo turnover of such a large port as Ust-Luga (124 million tons in 2022). Therefore, Russia is ready to participate in the program of modernization of Kazakhstan’s main infrastructure (including terminals) in the directions of its main flows.

For the direction of MTK North-South, the creation of a single operator in the form of the SP «RZD Logistics» and «KJ Express» will probably be a «modular» solution, believes the analyst. The working group of Russian, Azerbaijani and Iranian ministers in the western segment of the corridor is moving in the same direction.

The signing of an agreement on strategic cooperation between railway administrations is intended to be a decisive step towards institutionalizing the role of the international transport corridor North-South as a backbone of the unified transport and logistics framework of Eurasia, Member of the transport subgroup of the BRICS Business Council, Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research of the Higher School of Economics Marat Sembatov. 

Within the framework of cooperation between JSC «RZD» and JSC «Kazakhstan temir zhola» can be solved a number of tasks, says the expert. Among them - improving the connectivity of friendly countries of Eurasia through increased transport intensity, reducing territorial imbalances in regions through which the eastern branch of MTK North-South passes and creating prerequisites for increasing contribution from countriesthe participants of the corridor in the formation of new transport and logistics routes. 

One of such routes the expert named the planned Trans-Afghan railway. The other day, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk announced that Russia and Afghanistan intend to prepare the EU Transport Authority for this highway. 

The very fact of signing the document he evaluates as extremely positive. EAEU countries are very lacking in coordination in implementing large-scale plans. CIS countries, including Central Asiaticlaunched or plan to launch a lot of expensive major transport projects - various multimodal corridors, construction of container terminals, modernization and expansion of ports and so on. But these projects are often implemented by countries without coordination with each other,' - notes the expert.