The Russian Railways (RZD) OJSC will introduce a 20 percent discount on container shipments passing through the territories Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan for the whole 2023.
The company in a statement on Thursday said, "the board of Russian Railways has decided to support the transportation of containers along the eastern branch of the North-South international transport corridor (connects Russia with the countries of the Caspian basin, the Persian Gulf, Central, South and Southeast Asia)."
The 20% discount will apply to "export-import container shipments through Russian-Kazakh border crossings, provided that the cargo also passes through the Bolashak-Serkhetyaka border crossing between Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan”, according to the statement.
Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in Turkmenistan Alexander Elizarov in an in interview with TASS news agency announced that the number of regular container trains on the eastern branch of the North-South corridor is expected to increase to 17 trains per month.
"This is a very promising route - it is cheaper and faster,’ Elizarov said, adding that Russian companies have already requested a large volume of cargo through Turkmenistan.
The First Deputy General Director of RZD Sergey Pavlov during the plenary session of the international transport forum TRANSTEC on Tuesday announced the introduction of preferential tariffs for railway transportation on the eastern branch of the North-South international transport corridor from 2023.