DUSHANBE, August 9, 2010, Asia-Plus — On Saturday August 7, Uzbekistan resumed freight cars’ passage to the Tajik southern Khatlon province, Andrey Tropin, the head of the shipment department at Tajik Railways, told Asia-Plus Monday afternoon.
According to him, 33 freight cars arrived in Khatlon on August 7 and 27 other freight cars arrived in the province on August 8. “They also promised to allow 25 other cargo cars to move into Khatlon province today,” the Tajik state rail company official noted, adding that some 200 other Khatlon-bound freight cars are still being held up on Uzbek territory.
Uzbekistan suspended freight cars’ passage to Khatlon province on August 1 saying that a stretch of the railroad connecting the Uzbek city of Termez and Qurghon Teppa, the capital of Khatlon province was under repair.
“In the meantime, freight is transported along the rail routes to the Tajik northern Sughd province and Dushanbe without delays,” said Tropin, “There are some delays with the passage of the freight cars carrying alumina for the Tajik Aluminum Company (TALCO) but these delays have resulted from the locomotive problems at the Farab railroad station on the Turkmen-Uzbek border. 160 cars loaded with alumina have been stranded at this station.”
Meanwhile, complaints from entrepreneurs over the loss of goods at the Uzbek railroad station Kudukli on the Uzbek-Tajik border are continuing to come to Tajik Railways. “According to them, Uzbek customs officers are illegally unsealing the cargo cars and seizing part of goods justifying that by saying that the goods allegedly were not declared,” said Tropin, “Thus, local entrepreneur Anvar Yoqubov has applied to us today. He sent a car of wheat flour, totaling 1,360 sacks, to Tajikistan, while only 1,318 sacks arrived in Tajikistan. According to the customs control bill issued by Uzbek customs authorities at the Kudukli railroad station, 42 sacks were seized by Uzbek customs officers as excess freight.”
Tajikistan”s freight transit through Uzbekistan has been slowed since late 2009. Local experts attribute the delays to Dushanbe’s decision to raise funds within the country to complete the construction of the Roghun HPP.
