Railway Network of Kazakhstan and Freight border crossings
By Sophia Nina B-A
In my latest research, I carried out an extensive examination of Kazakhstan’s railway lines and border crossings for freight movement.
This took seven weeks of painstaking research, hundreds of tabs, alternating between three languages, and modifying my map that I created with geographic coordinates to make sure it was as accurate as possible. I also drew information from my field notes that I had taken from my research visit to Kazakhstan back in September 2024.
In total, Kazakhstan has around 21 rail border crossings with Russia; 2 with China (a third is currently under construction); 2 with Uzbekistan (a third is currently under construction); 2 with Kyrgyzstan; and 1 with Turkmenistan.
This map is a useful visual. Primarily because it consolidates my research notes in one place, and secondly, I can easily tweak and update it as railway lines and capacities at freight terminals are developed in Kazakhstan and the border regions.
Kazakhstan Railway Network
List of all inter-state freight Railway Junctions between Kazakhstan and its neighbours (Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan)
I have also linked the map coordinates and name spelling variations (for extra accuracy) of each railway station, specifically for freight movement only.
Kazakhstan-Russia
1. Ganyushkino
2. Molodost
3. Saihin
4. Zhanybek
7. Shyngyrlau
8. Zhaisan
10. Aksu-Tobol
12. Magnay
13. Zernovaya
15. Bulayevo-1
16. Kyzyl-Tu
17. Valikhanovo (part of the Irtyshskoye-Osolodino rail section)
18. Mynkul
19. Sharbakty (part of the Pavlodar-Kurkamys rail section)
20. Semeypalatinsk-Pristan (also referred to as ‘Aul’)
21. Shemonaikha (part of the Lokot-Oskemen 1 rail section)
On the Russia-Kazakhstan freight border rail crossings, I have found there to be around 21, although this is not an exhaustive list, as I explain below.
My research revealed two important details when analysing this particular border crossing:
Firstly, there were a lot of name variations of the railway sections in official policy documents between Russia and Kazakhstan, particularly in the Northern regions of Kazakhstan (as described in the Eurasian Economic Union customs policy documents and ‘The Law of The Republic of Kazakhstan on Railway Transport’), some names of the railway lines had changed and some stayed the same (for example some railway stations share the same names as towns in Russia) after Kazakhstan received its independence in 1991.
And secondly, the Petropavlovsk branch of the South Ural Railway, belonging to Russian Railways, runs on the territory of the Northern Kazakh city of the same name, Petropavl. It handles passenger and freight transportation and is also responsible for track maintenance. It is the only branch of Russian Railways in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan-China
1. Baqty – currently under construction
2. Dostyk - the 826km second track of the Dostyk (Kazakhstan)to Moiynty (China) railway line was completed and opened on 30 September 2025.
3. Altynkol-(commonly referred to as ‘Khorgos’, which is located in China on the other side of the border and connects with the Altynkol rail line in Kazakhstan).
Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan
1. Saryagash – Keles Links with the train station, the Uzbek capital city of Tashkent
2. Beynu - also known as the Karalkalpakstan rail border crossing, and runs along the Nukus-Kungrad-Beynou line.
3. Maaktaral (part of the Syrdarya – Zhetysai rail section) – currently under construction, and the railway line plans to pass through Saryagash, Keles, Shardara, Zhetysay, and Maaktaral and a bridge will be built over the Syr Darya river for the rail line. Construction aims to be completed reportedly by December 2026.
Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan
1. Taraz
2. Lugovaya – (part of the Lugovaya-Bishkek-Balykchi railway section)
Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan
1. Bolashak - The Bolashak border station became operational in May 2013.
A rail line from Bolashak runs to the Serkhetyaka station across the border in Turkmenistan. From here, predominantly Kazakh goods are shipped by rail to the Persian Gulf countries. Freight cars carrying wheat, construction materials, and fuel and lubricants proceed without stopping through to Turkmenistan.
From there, they go onwards by rail to Iran and Afghanistan. Some transit freight also runs through this line and transports auto parts, electronic equipment, and household goods.
The station was temporarily closed and resumed operations in January 2025. The total capacity of this line is between 8 million to 10 million tonnes per year; however it is currently running under capacity and attracting limited transit shipments.
The existing 1,700-kilometre-long Aktau-Uzen-Bolashak (Kazakhstan)-Serkhetyaka-Bereket-Ashgabat-Mary-Serkhetabad (Turkmenistan)-Turgundi (Afghanistan) railway line is already operational between the three countries.
In the first half of January 2023, it was reported that 400,000 tons of cargo were transported through Bolashak station onwards to Turkmenistan. In January 2025, freight volumes between Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are expected to reach 1.6 million tons, as reported by ElDala.kz, Kazakhstan’s agricultural trade news outlet.
In June 2025, it was reported that a Russian drone had crashed near the Bolashak railway station. This drone was believed to have been launched during tests at a leased testing ground nearby.
Further links:
Document published in 2011 by the Yekaterinburg Federal Agency for Railway Transport, Ural State University of Railway Transport, Department of "Stations, nodes and cargo work.”
CAREC Kazakhstan Railway Sector Assessment published in 2021 - https://www.carecprogram.org/uploads/CAREC-CRA-KAZ_FA_27APR2021_WEB.pdf - For reference, railway sector assessments for all CAREC countries were completed in 2021, and since then, regional coordination meetings take place each year between country representatives and international development banks to monitor progress on national transport programs and infrastructure projects. In June 2025, the 22nd CAREC Transport Sector Coordinating Committee Meeting was held in Kyrgyzstan.
Laws on KZ Rail lines post USSR - https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/P090001760_