A test run is conducted to organize regular services on this new railway route.

The train, loaded with various goods, drove from the Chinese city of Yiwu in the eastern province of Zhejiang in late January, crossing the distance of 7,908 kilometers, crossed the territory of Kazakhstan and reached the Turkmen railway station Serhetyak (Borderland).

Turkmen section of the new transnational railway route runs from the Serhetyak station to Sarakhs on the Turkmen-Iranian border. This segment makes 1156 kilometers. Experts estimate that in a few days the train will reach its final point – the capital of Iran, the city of Tehran.

At the same time, depending on the needs of the carriers of goods, two routes are provided for Turkmenistan – to southeast or northern Iran.

The total length of the China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran route is about 10 thousand kilometers, and the journey time is about two weeks, which is twice as fast as the sea route, which makes 25-30 days.

As noted by experts, this route allows the most optimal delivery of goods from the coast of East China to the markets of the Persian Gulf.

Creation of such a transit and transit corridor became possible after the construction of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran international railway. The road was opened in December 2014 with the participation of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and President of Iran Hasan Roukhani.

Amangeldy Nurmuradov

Photo: © AP Photo/ Alexander F. Yuan