BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 15. Rail freight transportation between Kazakhstan and China totalled 31.8 million tonnes in January-October 2026, up 8% compared with 29.4 million tonnes in the same period of 2025, according to the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan.
Growth was recorded in both directions. From China to Kazakhstan, rail freight transportation reached 12.1 million tonnes during the first ten months of 2026, an increase of 9% compared with the same period last year.
Of this volume, 5 million tonnes were transported through the Dostyk border station, up 13%, while shipments through the Altynkol station totalled 7.1 million tonnes, representing a 6% increase.
In the opposite direction, from Kazakhstan to China, rail freight transportation amounted to 19.7 million tonnes, up 8% year-on-year. By border crossing, 13.1 million tonnes of cargo were transported through Dostyk, an increase of 12%. Freight volume through Altynkol reached 6.6 million tonnes, up 1%.
According to the Bureau of National Statistics of Kazakhstan, the country's total freight transportation volume reached 796.2 million tonnes in January-October 2026, up 0.9% compared with the same period of 2025. Total freight turnover amounted to 430.3 billion tonne-kilometres, an increase of 0.3% year-on-year.
Rail freight transportation across Kazakhstan amounted to 279.2 million tonnes, down 1.1% year-on-year. Meanwhile, rail freight turnover increased by 0.8% to 245.4 billion tonne-kilometres.
Trend's calculations show that rail freight transportation between Kazakhstan and China accounted for approximately 11.4% of the country's total rail freight volume during the reporting period.
