Ukraine plans to transport up to 10 million tons of cargo each year on the Trans-Caspian route in Central Asia

Almaty. January 14. Silkroadnews - In the future Ukraine plans to carry up to 10 million tons of cargo annually on the Trans-Caspian international transport routes through Azerbaijan to Central Asia, Trend reports.
“Trans-Caspian route is one of the most promising projects in the field of railways transport development in different countries”, the publication referred to the acting the head of “Ukrzaliznytsia” (“Ukrainian Railways”) Alexander Zavgorodniy.
He noted that on January 15 the first test train will depart on this route from the port of Ilyichevsk on the Black Sea.  
“The train purpose is to pass the route to Dostyk station on the border between Kazakhstan and China and while going to identify all the issues related to the cargo transportation. In particular, to clarify the terms along the routes, speed of movement in different areas, problems arising in transportation process to further eliminate all the issues and, thus, next time carry out transportation according to the plan”, A. Zavgorodniy said.
“The test train will be loaded with goods for export to Kazakhstan, mainly food and beverages. Estimated time of the train from Ilyichevsk to Dostyk is approximately 9 days”, the representative of Ukraine also added.
He also announced the intention to increase Ukraine’s transit through Azerbaijan.
“In October last year we have placed on the books two large ferry boats with loading capacity of 108 cars each, which will run between the ports of Batumi and Ilyichevsk allowing to transport large amounts of cargo. In the future, we plan to carry about 10 million tons a year on the Trans-Caspian route”, A.Zavgorodniy added.
It was reported earlier that Ukraine offers shippers to use the Trans-Caspian international transport routes to deliver goods to Central Asia bypassing Russia, in this connection the test flight container train on the route Ukraine-Georgia-Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan-China (via the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea) shall depart from Ilyichevsk on January 15.