Tag Archives: rail

Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan opened railway to Iran

DEC. 3 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The presidents of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Iran formally opened a railway line that will connect the three countries. At the event in Ashgabat, the leaders said that the railway line would increase trade between Central Asia and Iran and help ignite a new north-south Silk Road.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 212, published on Dec. 10 2014)

Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran train to launch

DEC. 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev and Iranian president Hassan Rouhani flew to Ashgabat for separate bilateral talks with Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov as well as for the long-awaited inauguration of a new railway that will connect the three countries.

The inauguration ceremony for the 935km Ozen-Bereket- Gorgan line is due on Dec. 3. It will vastly reduce travel time and, it is hoped, boost north-south trade.

“This route will permit the region’s development and prosperity,” Turkmen leader Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was quoted by media as saying. “This event will go down in the history of our countries.”

A statement from Mr Nazarbayev’s office said they thought the railway route would increase trade by three- fold.

Predictions of trade increases generated by the new railway are, by their very nature during this period of economic uncertainty, difficult to gauge. What is more certain, though, is that Central Asia’s links with Iran will improve further.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 211, published on Dec. 3 2014)

Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran rail to open

NOV. 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – A new railway running from Kazakhstan, through Turkmenistan to Iran will open on Dec. 3, Iran’s minister for urban development, Abbas Akhoundi, said. The route is an important part of a new north-south Silk Road. Turkmenistan wants to encourage trade across its territories.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 210, published on Nov. 26 2014)

Georgian PM backs new railway

OCT. 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a speech to potential foreign investors, Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili underlined the economic importance of the Baku- Tbilisi-Kars railway, due to launch next year, to Georgia. The railway will supposedly give industry and business across the region a boost.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 207, published on Nov. 5 2014)

EBRD invests in Kazakh railway company

SEPT. 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has agreed to lend Kazakhstan’s railway company $165m as part of its upgrade plan, media reported. This is important because it shows that Kazakhstan continues to attract investment despite declining economic growth rate predictions.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 202, published on Oct. 1 2014)

Kazakhstan-Iran rail link opening

SEPT. 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway link will be opened shortly, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev was quoted by media as saying. The rail link between Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and Iran has been touted as a major advance for trade between Iran and Central Asia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 199, published on Sept. 10 2014)

Turkmenistan links Iran-Kazakhstan

JULY 7 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan has completed a 700km stretch of railway linking Iran and Kazakhstan, media reported quoting officials. The railway, which runs through the Karakum Desert, is another important exit route for goods and oil being exported out of Central Asia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 192, published on July 9 2014)

Iran, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan sign rail deal

APRIL 28 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan signed agreements with their Iranian counterparts that will extend rail cooperation between the countries, media reported. Central Asian countries have been signing deals with Iran to extend a trade route to the Persian Gulf.

(News report from Issue No. 182, published on April 30 2014)

Train derails in Kazakhstan

APRIL 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — A passenger train running between Almaty and Atyrau, western Kazakhstan, derailed injuring 44 people. Kazakhstan is pouring cash into updating and modernising its rail infrastructure. Rail remains one of the main ways to travel around the country.

(News report from Issue No. 181, published on April 23 2014)

World Bank considers loan to Uzbekistan

APRIL 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The World Bank is considering a $200m loan to Uzbekistan for the construction of a railway in the east of the country, media report. China has already agreed various loans for the Angren-Pap railway that will link the eastern Ferghana Valley area with the rest of Uzbekistan.

(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)