From December 1, Kazakhstan's rail locomotive traction charges will rise by 23.5% for most freight, and fees for additional services and for the use of freight wagons and containers will change at the same time. Companies shipping goods by rail between Kazakhstan and China should rework their year-end logistics costs now.
According to a notice from KTZ Freight Transportation (KTZ – Gruzovye perevozki), the change follows a reasoned opinion from the Committee for the Regulation of Natural Monopolies under the Ministry of National Economy (letter No. 32-08-07/1387-и of September 2, 2026). The company approved the new indexation coefficients by its order No. 131-ГП of September 21. The notice says the changes apply to domestic and international (export-import) traffic.
We compared the new table with the coefficients in force since June 1, 2025. For crude oil, oil products, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, coal, grain, ores, fertilizers, chemicals and construction materials, both the electric and diesel traction coefficients have been multiplied by 1.235. Liquefied gas and socially important food products are unchanged. Shipments of household goods also go up by about 23.5%. Container traffic has its own set of coefficients, with grain counted separately from other cargo.
This is the second tariff decision in three months. Since September 21, the tariff for regulated main-line network services has been 24% higher under the regulator's order No. 114-ОД of September 2. National rail company KTZ says the network tariff will not rise in 2027 and will be indexed by 3% a year in 2028-2030, while rates for socially important food products and liquefied gas stay unchanged through 2030. KTZ says the extra revenue goes into the Trans-Kazakhstan corridor, including the Moiynty-Kyzylzhar and Bakhty-Ayagoz lines; the latter runs toward the Chinese border.
For Chinese companies, two kinds of shipments are affected. The first is direct trade between the two countries: cargo that enters through Dostyk and Altynkol and is distributed inside Kazakhstan, and Kazakh grain, metals and ore moving to China. The second is the in-country logistics of Chinese-owned plants and traders in Kazakhstan, from inbound raw materials to outbound finished goods.
Rules related to this news
Transit is a separate matter. The notice covers domestic and export-import traffic and does not mention transit. Russia's Transport Institute notes that transit moves under a separate international rail transit tariff, and neither the regulator nor the carrier publishes how it breaks down. Whether costs change for China-Europe container trains crossing Kazakhstan will depend on what KTZ announces on transit rates.
How much the all-in rate rises depends on the shares of network services, traction and wagon charges in the through tariff, and KTZ does not publish that split. The Transport Institute also points out that Russian Railways raised freight tariffs by 8.5% from October 1, so routes through both Russia and Kazakhstan take both increases.
Three steps shippers can take now: ask forwarders for quotes on the post-December 1 coefficients, with network and traction shown separately; check rate-revision clauses in long-term contracts, keeping in mind that shipments before December 1 are charged at the old coefficients; and confirm which container coefficient group applies to your cargo.
The cover image is an AI-generated illustration and is not directly related to the news.
Sources:
KTZ Freight Transportation, locomotive traction tariffs and annex to order No. 131-ГП, https://ktzh-gp.kz/ru/activity/tariff-policy/tarify-na-uslugi-lokomotivnoy-tyagi-ao-ktzh-gruzovye-perevozki/
KTZ Freight Transportation, indexation coefficients from June 1, 2025, https://ktzh-gp.kz/upload/ktzh-gp/docs-files/uploads/20250523181607_Коэффициенты%20индексации%20с%2001.06.2025г..pdf
Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), tariffs, https://railways.kz/ru/infrastruktura/tarify/
Kazinform, https://www.inform.kz/ru/povishenie-tarifov-ktzh-v-kazahstane-rasprostranyaetsya-feykovaya-informatsiya-afca69fa
Transport Institute (Transportny institut), https://transins.ru/rynok/ktzh-plyus-24-rzhd-plyus-8-5-pyat-tarifnyh-resheniy-na-odnom-marshrute/
RailAgent, https://www.railagent.ru/manuals/telegram/3633