China testing Turkmen railway transit to Iran

A container train is on a route from Turkmenistan to Iran, through the Ak-Yayla railway station, making the next test trip on the China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran route, the Turkmen Dovlet Habarlary state news service reported.

Launched on December 28, 2017 from the city of Changsha (Hunan Province), a major industrial center in the south of China, a train consisting of 41 container wagons loaded with consumer goods will help to pinpoint the temporary and other performance characteristics of the route for regular traffic, according to the report.

Sending the train on the Changsha (China) -Altynkol (Kazakhstan) -Bolashak-Serhetiaka (Turkmenistan)-Ak-Yayla-Incheburun (Iran)-Tehran route was held in a solemn atmosphere, corresponding to the significance of the event.

Following the first train sent on the China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran route, the second train left the city of Yinchuan (autonomous region in the central part of China) on December 29, and on the next day, December 30, the third train left the Xi'an city of Shaanxi province in the north of China.

The first freight train, testing the transport and logistics infrastructure of the four friendly countries, arrived at the border station Altynkol in Kazakhstan on January 4, and on January 7, it reached the border of Turkmenistan, where the train was solemnly met at the Serhetiaka station.

Later, the train ran 825 kilometers to the Ak-Yayla station located in the south of Turkmenistan’s Balkan region, and reached it ahead of schedule, entering Iran's territory.

The Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway is the most economical route between Asia and Europe, and is the shortest way to deliver cargo, including transit cargo, and for passenger transportation in the future.