Photo: russian.people.com.cn
For the first time, Chinese authorities have dispatched a freight train from Wuhan, Hubei Province, along the multimodal international transport corridor known as “China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan.” With this shipment, another region of China has been integrated into the logistics network connecting the country with Central Asian republics. The train departed from Wujia Mountain Station on July 16, according to Xinhua News Agency.
The shipment will reach its destination via a combination of rail and highway transport. The train, carrying food-grade containers and other goods, will arrive in Kashgar, in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. There, the containers will be transferred onto trucks, which will exit China through the Irkeshtam border crossing into Kyrgyzstan before continuing on to their final destination: Tashkent.
Xinhua emphasized that trade between Hubei and Central Asian countries has been steadily growing in recent years. In 2021, China Railway Corporation dispatched a freight train from Wuhan to Almaty. Earlier this year, these trains were added to the regular schedule, providing a monthly capacity of up to 440 standard containers and more than 7,500 tons of cargo.
According to a representative of the regional transport company, this new logistics route will allow goods from Hubei to reach Central Asian clients more quickly. The railway corridor is expected to reduce transportation and insurance costs by 30 percent and shorten delivery times from 20 days to just 10.
The Wuhan branch of China Railway noted that the launch of this new route presents an opportunity to expand cooperation with relevant stakeholders, streamline trade procedures, improve logistics infrastructure, and establish a high-efficiency international transport corridor.
Shipments from Hubei to Tashkent are not new. In 2023, a freight train from the city of Zhangjiakou was sent to Uzbekistan for the first time. However, that journey followed the China–Europe/Central Asia railway route, with Kazakhstan serving as the transit country.
