2.4 Tajikistan Railway Assessment
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
2.4 Tajikistan Railway Assessment Railway Companies and Consortia Capacity Table Key Route Information Key Stations/Dry Ports Railway Procedures Tajikistan depends on rail transport for the movement of most commodities into the country and for exports, mainly cotton – fibers and aluminium. According to official reports of Rail authorities there were 79594 freight rail cars entering and exiting Tajikistan in 2017. In 2017, 4.7 million mt were transported into or out of the country by rail a drop of 0.8 million mt from the previous year. International passenger traffic totalled 530,600 which is a decline of 78,500 passengers compared to 2016. All cargo and passenger traffic along Uzbekistan section of railroad have stood idle since November 2011. During official visits of the Uzbekistan president to Tajikistan, all the boarders were opened. Uzbekistan has reportedly completed repair works on a long-idle railroad linking it to southern Tajikistan and start resuming train traffic from March 2018. From January to April 2018, there was a total of 1.6 million mt imported and 1.2 million mt exported through railway stations. There is little or no domestic movement of goods by rail within the country. There is also little or no use of the railway network for passenger movements within the country. The only passenger trains depart Khujand or Dushanbe twice weekly for Moscow. The rail network was built during the Soviet era and connected all the Soviet Republics. Tajikistan is integrated to this system and can move/receive any cargo to/from any of these. There is passenger rail traffic moving mostly to Russia three times a week. Sughd province Sughd province (Khujand) in the north is the main entry point for wheat from Kazakhstan, and fuel and other bulk commodities from Russia. Tajikistan receives up to 1,088,000 mt of wheat and wheat flour per year from Kazakhstan. About 90% of this arrives by rail in Khujand were the wheat is stored and milled with over 60% sent southwards by truck. Page 1 Traders and milling companies say there would be no transport constraint on movement of much larger quantities of wheat or wheat flour to Khujand from Kazakhstan, even up to 2 million mt per year. In the past, the main problem had been the shortage of bulk railroad hopper cars for bulk movement of grain, but leasing companies in Russia and Kazakhstan have financed big increases in rolling stock to satisfy the demand. Dushanbe province The railroad connection with Dushanbe is still used for some goods coming from Baltic ports, but requires a circuitous 1500 km transit through Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan at prohibitive costs. It is still viable for goods received from port of Poti, Georgia for rail movement through Azerbaijan, across the Caspian Sea and through Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Alumina (aluminium oxide) is imported for smelting via Black Sea ports of Poti, Georgia and Novorossiysk, Russia as well as through Riga, Latvia on the Baltic Sea. Volumes may be close to 1 million mt, though no official numbers are released. About half that amount is then re-exported as aluminium from the smelter west of Dushanbe. All alumina and aluminium moves on the rail line entering the country from Uzbekistan at Tursunzoda. Exports from Tajikistan to other countries includes agricultures products, dry fruits and citrus totalling 82,320 mt in 2017. Khatlon province The railroad link to rich agricultural region in the Khatlon Valley of southwestern Tajikistan via Aviaj, Tajikistan crossing to Termez, Uzbekistan has been closed by the Uzbekistan government since 2011. In March 2018, during an official visit of the Uzbekistan president in Tajikistan, all the boarders were opened. There is a project to build a 47-km railroad link over a mountain pass to unite the southern railroad network with Dushanbe that will make possible railroad movement for agricultural commodities and other goods northward. In 2013, the presidents of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan signed an agreement for a railroad link from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan and to southwest Tajikistan across the Pyanj River bypassing Uzbekistan. Construction is said to have commenced in the Turkmenistan part. There is a proposal for a railway across the river from Nijny Pyanj to Herat, Afghanistan and to connect with the existing railroad link to Iran. However, Tajikistan tracks are Soviet gauge, while Iran tracks are international gauge. Railway Companies and Consortia Entity(s) in Charge Contact Names & Email Telephone & Fax State Unitary Enterprise “Rohi Ohani Tojikiston” (SUE ROT) Name: Komil Jumakhon Tel: + 992 37 221 83 34 (Tajik Railways) Title: Head Fax: + 992 37 221 60 59 Email: [email protected], [email protected] For more information on contact lists, please see the following links: 4.1 Tajikistan Government Contact List 4.9 Tajikistan Railway Company Contact List Page 2 Capacity Table Tajik Railways Aluminium company Lines Operates On All lines Dushanbe line Max train length and/or pulling capacity 3000 mt 3000 mt Locomotives (electric/diesel/steam) 57 n/a Freight Wagons all types 1300 700 Key Route Information Crossing points Uzbekistan – Tursunzoda (Kudu Uzbekistan – Spitamen – Uzbekistan - Amuzan -Kurgantyu Uzbekistan – Istiklol (K kli) – Dushanbe Khujand - Kyrgyzstan be onibodom) Track gauge 1.520m 1.520m 1.520m 1.520m Companies-consortiums Tajik Railways Tajik Railways Tajik Railways Tajik Railways operating on line Traffic frequency (monthly n/a n/a Operating from March 2018 n/a /weekly/daily) Security (Good, marginal, Good Good Good Good bad) Main stations (Add details Dushanbe -1 Spitamen Kulyab, Kurgantyube, Balkhi (Kalko Istiklol (Konibodom) below) zobod), Kushadi Dushanbe -2 Khujand Aini, Regar Khujand - Gafurov Key Stations/Dry Ports Railway Station Railway Code Shaartuz 746602 J. Rumi 746509 Kurgantyube 746405 Dushanbe – 1 745205 Dushanbe – 2 745309 Khujand 747802 Khujand - Gafurov 747802/1377 Aini 745506 Key Station Information Dushanbe -1 Khujand - Gafurov Spitamen Connections with other Road / air Road / air Road / air transport means (road/waterways/air) Handling Equipment n/a Mechanized bulk wheat Mechanized bulk wheat Railway Procedures Import There are several main stations in Tajikistan, along the rail route through the country. Importing party should provide the railway codes as destination. Tajikistan Railway authorities collect the railway tariff for Tajikistan territory. The tariffs vary depending on the wagonload. The importing party or consignee should pay the tariff at Railway central offices in the cities. Page 3 Steps to follow when importing by rail: Provide information of the cargo to the railway authorities, who will calculate the “tariff” (approximately US$200 to US$250 for 60 mt loaded wagon) and make payment through the bank account of “Tajikistan Railway”. It is very important to note that “Tajikistan Railway” tariff cannot be paid from offshore. Only those parties officially registered in Tajikistan are authorized to pay the above-mentioned fees. The best solution in this case is the consignee to take control of payment of these fees to facilitate the process. Once payment is through, the Railway office will issue an invoice, stating the payment has been made. Once the wagon has arrived at the destination station, the station authorities will inform the consignee on the arrival of the wagons. The invoice on tariff payment should be submitted to the railway station for the release of the wagons (if your warehouse does not have railway siding) and cargo can be off-loaded at special parks at the railway station. If your warehouse has railway siding, there are other costs involved, such as shunting, cleaning and security from station to the warehouses. Railways services payment are varies depending on the distance between station and warehouse and should be paid at railway station, and only after payment of these costs, the wagons will be shunted to your warehouses. Example, WFP warehouses in Dushanbe are linked to the railway station (6km), so the approximate expense for the services for one wagon of 60 mt load is US$70 (2018). Once the wagons are off-loaded, you should notify the railway station to return the wagons to the railway station. Authorities at the station will examine the condition of the wagon and if no damages are found the wagons will be sent back to the origin railway station. In case of any damage to the wagon, the consignee will be penalized. The amount varies depending on the damage evaluation. Demurrage will be charged in case of late off-loading and delay of wagons at the Railway Station and at the warehouses (4 hours free time is granted for offloading/loading) Export Tajikistan Railway has over 2,000 cargo carriages/wagons, which could be used for export of cargo out of the country. To export any cargo by Railway, you should follow the steps below: Request the Railway central offices in the cities on the availability of the wagons and provide information about the cargo to be shipped. Prepare all necessary export documentations (customs, state standard, certificates of origin and health, etc.) Pay the “tariff” for the railway charges of Tajik territory and provide statement all tariffs along the transit route of other countries are paid. In case you load the cargo at Railway Station, you pay tariff and minor fees and load the wagon, seal it together with authorities and issue waybills. In case you load the cargo at your warehouse with railway link, payment should be made to cover shunting, cleaning, security and other expenses. Wagon will be shunted to you warehouse for loading and once loading completed, the railway authorities will inspect and seal the wagon at your warehouses. Wagon will be shunted to railway station, where the waybill will be issued. Wagon is delivered to the destination according to the schedule of Tajikistan Railway Demurrage will be charged in case of delay at loading point (only 4 hours free time given for loading) Page 4.