The Kazakh Ministry of Transport and the Chinese State Committee for Development and Reform have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to build a third railway link between the two countries. The new line is to be about 250 km long and run from Ayagoz on the Charsk – Aktogai main line in Kazakhstan to the Tacheng railway station just across the Chinese border. The project includes the construction of a rail freight transport terminal and customs facilities at the border. The new border crossing is intended to handle the increasing transport between the two countries, which is driven by the continuous expansion of services to Europe. With the start of operations of the third border crossing by rail, the transport volume between Kazakhstan and China is expected to increase to 50 million t. The two organisations also agreed to develop the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR).
