Kazakh railways cargo transportation up by 11% in 2004

/REUTERS, Almaty, Tatyana Seroshtanova, February 8, 05/ - Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, Kazakh railway flag carrier, boosted its cargo transportation by 10.9 % (YoY) in 2004, including crude and oil products, which are up by 4.5%, the company said in a statement posted on its web site www.railways.kz. Value of crude and oil products transported totaled 19.985 m tones in 2004, the statement suggests. "Such positive dynamics was made possible thanks to industry-wide restructurings that enhanced the national railways efficiency, as well as due to stable economic growth the Republic of Kazakhstan experiences". Tariff cargo turnover of KTZh reached 163.8 bn tones-km in 2004, passenger transportation rose by 10.6 to 11.8 pax-km, the statement says. According to the company, the volume of average daily cargo load rose by 4.2 per cent in the last year to 529,400 tonnes. State -run Kazakhstan Temir Zholy JSC values its assets at $3.3 bn. [2005-02-08]