Kazakhstan holds a critical position in global logistics — it is Eurasia's transit hub. But growing competition on international routes, mounting pressure on infrastructure, and geopolitical shifts demand a comprehensive optimization of the entire transport system. In this paper I examine where the system loses efficiency and what it takes for Kazakhstan to keep — and strengthen — its role.
The country's transport system has passed through four stages: stabilizing the Soviet legacy and creating Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (1997), integrating into global corridors in the 2000s, systematic digitalization in the 2010s under the Belt and Road Initiative and the Nurly Zhol program, and route diversification in the 2020s.
The Western Europe — Western China corridor cut transit time on the Kazakh section from 40–45 hours to 15–20: over 2,100 km of roads rebuilt, with investment exceeding $5 billion.
Transit diversification runs through the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway, and southern routes. It is the TITR that is becoming the strategic alternative to the northern routes.
More than 52% of the locomotive fleet (over 1,900 units) is worn out; the country needs about 450 new locomotives. Tracks are used beyond their design life, border infrastructure can't keep up with growing flows, and railcar shortages cause idle time and delays.
Weak digitalization amplifies every other risk: while processes are managed manually, it is impossible to forecast loads or reroute operations in real time.
The road sector's key bottlenecks are pavement quality on certain sections, a lack of bypass routes, queues at border crossings, and piecemeal — rather than systemic — deployment of intelligent transport systems: automated weight control, traffic sensors, digital navigation.
Infrastructure — accelerated renewal of tracks and rolling stock, expanding hub stations and border crossings. Digitalization — a unified platform coordinating all transport modes, predictive diagnostics, online operations control. Economics — flexible tariff policy that encourages multimodal schemes, hub development, and competition. Risk — backup routes, interagency coordination at borders, corridor diversification.
The paper's conclusion: none of these measures works in isolation. Only a systemic approach — infrastructure, digital, tariffs, and risk management together — delivers speed, reliability, and transparency.
Mustafin K. Strategic optimization of rail and road freight in Kazakhstan: economic efficiency and operational risk management // Aktualnye Issledovaniya. 2022. No. 35(114). ISSN 2713-1513. (In Russian)
Read on apni.ru →