In April 2025, the roar of machines in the mountains of Jalalabad, Kyrgyzstan, broke a thousand years of silence. The construction of three controlled tunnels, Ferghana Mountain, Naren No.1, and Koshtbo, on the Kyrgyzstan section of the China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Railway has officially begun, marking the substantive construction phase of this strategic passage that has been put on hold for nearly 30 years.

For builders like local engineer Alexei, this is not only a physical engineering to connect the mountains, but also a historic step in connecting the "Ren Du Er Mai" of the Central Asian economy. After the completion of this railway, it will become the shortest land route from China to Europe, shortening the transportation distance by about 900 kilometers and saving 7 to 8 days of transportation time compared to the existing route.

Container transportation surged by 25% in four years

The recent report released by the Eurasian Development Bank shows that container transportation in Central Asia is showing a stable growth trend. Although logistics is still limited by railway capacity, the addition of multimodal transport routes is driving the continued expansion of cross-border freight transportation.

The report points out that compared to 2021, the container transportation volume of cross-border regional routes has increased by about a quarter in 2025. This growth occurred against the backdrop of a complex logistics environment, where limited railway capacity resulted in some goods being transported by road, forming a mixed mode of multimodal transport.

The Eurasian Development Bank stated in its report that "container transportation in the Eurasian region is growing rapidly, reflecting profound changes in the economy: improvements in production and trade structures, development of logistics, modernization of transportation infrastructure, and successful realization of transit potential

The China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Railway connects the shortest corridor

Experts emphasize that the construction of the Eurasian transportation framework is in the formation stage. Kazakhstan is undergoing modernization of railway sections and constructing a third railway exit to China through new border ports.

In Kyrgyzstan, the strategic section of the China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan railway is under construction. This railway will connect China and Uzbekistan in the shortest distance and link the large transportation systems of the Eurasian continent.

The China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Railway Project starts from Kashgar, Xinjiang, China, enters Kyrgyzstan through the Turgat Pass, and then extends westward to Andijan, Uzbekistan, with a total length of about 523 kilometers. The line adopts a single track railway design with a designed speed of 120 kilometers per hour, and has 20 stations including Tuergat Port Station and Markmar Interchange Station.

It is worth noting that the Kyrgyzstan section includes three key tunnel projects exceeding 10 kilometers, which are extremely difficult to construct. At present, the project has entered a high load operation state, with over 5000 workers and 5695 specialized machinery deployed on site.

By 2030, the transportation capacity is targeted at 1.7 million TEUs

With the improvement of the aforementioned infrastructure, the Eurasian Development Bank predicts that by 2030, the container traffic in the Central Asian International Transport Corridor will reach 1.7 million TEUs.

What is the concept of 1.7 million TEUs? Equivalent to over 4600 containers flowing on this channel every day. This is not only a growth in numbers, but also a reflection of the depth of regional economic integration.

At the same time, countries are enhancing their transit transportation capabilities, promoting the construction of seamless logistics systems, and building regional logistics hubs. Analysts point out that container transportation is gradually becoming an important driving force for regional development, creating conditions for expanding the scale of trade in the Eurasian region.

From data growth to infrastructure implementation, Central Asia is undergoing a magnificent transformation from a "landlocked country" to a "land linked country". The steel dragon of the China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Railway not only carries goods, but also carries the dream of regional prosperity, heading towards a broader future.Editor/Yang Meiling