A freight train slowly passes through the crowded urban railway crossing of Almaty, and soon these trains will no longer need to cross the central area of this metropolis. Thanks to the $300 million financing support provided by international financial institutions, a new electrified bypass line is being intensively constructed to alleviate a major bottleneck in the trans Caspian international transportation corridor connecting China and Europe.

In early 2026, the International Finance Corporation, in collaboration with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and multilateral investment guarantee agencies, officially announced a financing plan of no more than $300 million to Kazakhstan State Railways. This funding will be specifically used for the construction of the Almaty Ring Electrified Railway project, which is approximately 130 kilometers long. By guiding freight trains to bypass the central area of Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, it will directly alleviate the serious congestion problem faced by the Trans Caspian International Transport Corridor, a key trade channel on the Eurasian continent.

Establishing an exemplary innovative financing model

This financing plan demonstrates the efficient collaboration between multilateral development institutions and commercial banks. According to the detailed financing arrangement, the International Finance Corporation, as the leading party, has committed to investing up to $50 million in capital; The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will provide loan support of up to $150 million. In terms of commercial banks, Standard Chartered Bank has provided loans of up to $100 million, and this portion of the commercial loan plan is supported by credit guarantees provided by multilateral investment guarantee agencies, effectively reducing the risk of private capital participating in large-scale infrastructure projects.

This financing structure, in which international development agencies provide partial funding and risk guarantees to successfully mobilize large-scale private capital participation, is a typical practice of the "public capital leveraging private capital" model. The International Finance Corporation specifically pointed out that this project is not only a financial cooperation, but also sets an important benchmark for the financing and cooperation of future infrastructure projects in Kazakhstan by introducing internationally recognized strict financial auditing, high environmental and social security standards, and has far-reaching demonstration significance.

Double improvement of transportation efficiency and capacity

The Almaty bypass railway supported by this financing is a single track electrified freight dedicated line with a length of approximately 75 kilometers. The route starts from Jetgen Station in the north and ends at Kazbek Station in the south, aiming to form an independent freight corridor in the northern area of Almaty city, diverting transit freight trains that originally had to pass through the city.

Almaty, as the most important economic and transportation hub in Kazakhstan, is the intersection of multiple domestic and international railway lines. It has long been under tremendous freight pressure and has become a bottleneck that restricts the overall efficiency of the railway network. After the new bypass line is put into use, it is expected to reduce railway network congestion in the Almaty hub area by more than 40%, and the running time of freight trains passing through this area can be shortened by up to 24 hours. At the same time as improving efficiency, the project can also release the transportation capacity of existing railway lines passing through the city, creating conditions for improving local passenger services and helping to reduce additional carbon emissions caused by train congestion and idling. The project reflects a high degree of localization, with the roadbed engineering basically completed and a large amount of railway materials produced domestically in Kazakhstan used.

Consolidate the strategic position of regional hub

The value of the Almaty bypass project goes far beyond solving traffic congestion in individual cities. Its deeper strategic significance lies in a crucial capacity enhancement for the increasingly busy 'Trans Caspian International Transport Corridor'. This transportation corridor connecting China and Europe through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, and the Caucasus region is developing into an important alternative route to the traditional northern corridor through Russia due to its unique geographical path, and the demand for freight is rapidly increasing.

With the changes in the geopolitical and economic landscape, the strategic importance of the Central Corridor has significantly increased. In 2024, the freight volume of this corridor surged by 62% year-on-year, reaching about 4.5 million tons, and traffic congestion has also intensified. In this context, unblocking the key node of Almaty is crucial for enhancing the reliability, timeliness, and competitiveness of the entire corridor. Kazakhstan is taking this opportunity to systematically promote multiple large-scale infrastructure projects, including the "Dostyk Moint" railway double track project, to comprehensively consolidate its strategic positioning as the core land transportation hub of the Eurasian continent. Keywords: international logistics, freight, railway

On the construction site outside Almaty, the new railway carrying the expectations of international capital and regional connectivity is steadily extending. The Chief Financial Officer of Kazakhstan State Railways, Dayr Kuscherov, stated that this bypass line will help the company more effectively handle the growing long-distance freight volume, enhance the resilience of the regional logistics network, and comprehensively enhance the competitiveness of the Trans Caspian Transport Corridor as a reliable trade bridge connecting Asia and Europe. Every efficient China Europe freight train is quietly reshaping the trade and logistics landscape of the Eurasian continent and even the world.Editor/Cheng Liting