In 2025, rail roud companey Kyrgyz Temir Zholu transported over 10 million tons of freight for the first time in Kyrgyzstan's history, significantly exceeding the long-term average of 7 million tons, according to Economist.kg.
This growth was made possible by infrastructure modernization, the launch of new multimodal corridors (in particular, China-Europe), and the implementation of the "Unified Model of the Transportation Process" digital platform, which reduced corruption risks.
However, the scale of the Kyrgyz network is modest: only 424.6 km, of which only the northern section (323 km) provides transit to Kazakhstan and Russia, and the southern section (101 km) provides connections to Uzbekistan.
For comparison:
Uzbekistan transports over 80 million tons annually on 5,000+ km of railways;
Kazakhstan handles over 250 million tons over 16,000+ km, remaining a key transit hub for Eurasia;
Tajikistan, with 680 km of track, approaches 4 million tons, despite its mountainous terrain.
Thus, despite impressive relative growth, Kyrgyzstan remains a small player in regional rail logistics, but demonstrates potential due to its strategic location on new trade routes.
Meanwhile, once completed around 2029, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway route will increase Kyrgyzstan's railway length by 320 km, and the country will become a transit hub, generating revenue of over $200 million.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
January 14, 2026