Demirýollary

Demirýollary is Turkmenistan’s state-owned railway carrier, operating freight and passenger services across the country and supporting the maintenance of the national rail system. Its name means “Railways” in Turkmen. The company is headquartered in Ashgabat and functions under the institutional authority of the Railways Agency of Turkmenistan, which is subordinate to the Ministry of Industry and Construction. The railway system itself belongs to the state railway agency, while Demirýollary owns or manages much of the operating and supporting apparatus required to run it, including locomotive and railcar depots, stations, construction and track-maintenance units, communications and power-supply services, and two hotels in the Awaza tourist zone. The company was created as an open joint-stock company on 5 February 2020, following a government decision to transfer railway-carrier functions to a new commercial structure. Its founders were the Turkmenistan Railways Agency, the Ashgabat Track and Structures Division, the transport-logistics company Türkmenistanyň Ulag-logistika merkezi, and the telecommunications operator Altyn Asyr. The reorganization separated carrier activities from the wider regulatory and infrastructure responsibilities of the railway agency. Demirýollary consequently became responsible for both passenger and freight transportation. Demirýollary operates a railway network extending for approximately 4,980 kilometers and serving more than 345 stations. The network connects major Turkmen cities and supports domestic mobility, industrial supply chains, and cross-border rail movements. A rail connection with Kazakhstan using the former Soviet broad-gauge standard opened in 2013, while the connection with Iran involves a break of gauge because Iran uses the standard 1,435-millimeter gauge rather than the 1,520-millimeter gauge used in Turkmenistan. These links give the company a role in regional transport corridors across Central Asia and toward Iran. Passenger and freight traffic are the company’s core commercial activities. Demirýollary reportedly serves nearly six million passengers annually, while its passenger department employs about 5,000 specialists within a total workforce profile of approximately 15,000. Passenger tickets are sold through station channels, an online service introduced in June 2019, and mobile applications for Android and iOS. Passenger accommodation includes compartment sleepers, couchette cars, and sleeping cars with two-berth compartments. The rolling-stock base includes diesel locomotives, freight wagons, and passenger coaches. A 2019 fleet profile cited by the Asian Development Bank recorded 119 diesel locomotives, 10,056 freight wagons, and 425 passenger cars under the railway system. The freight fleet included tanker, gondola, platform, hopper, box, and refrigerated wagons. The same assessment noted that a substantial proportion of wagons were more than three decades old, creating a long-term renewal and maintenance requirement. Turkmenistan has sourced rolling stock from several countries, including China, Russia, and Kazakhstan. Chinese-built locomotives have become especially important: CRRC Ziyang deliveries reportedly account for the overwhelming majority of railway transportation handled in the country as of 2025. A 2025 overhaul program in China involved diesel engines, bogies, electrical systems, control technology, safety monitoring, and cab ergonomics. The company’s strategic role is therefore broader than passenger rail alone. It combines a national transport mandate with logistics, equipment maintenance, station operations, infrastructure support, and selected hospitality assets. Because Turkmenistan’s railway sector remains closely integrated with state administration and national infrastructure planning, Demirýollary operates less like a competitively positioned consumer brand and more like a public-sector transport institution and strategic carrier. Its future performance depends on the modernization of aging wagons, continued locomotive investment, the development of regional corridors, and the balance between domestic service obligations and international freight opportunities.

Turkmenistan’s railway system developed from the broad-gauge network inherited from the Russian and Soviet railway administrations. The system forms part of the wider Central Asian rail infrastructure and uses a 1,520-millimeter gauge, allowing direct technical compatibility with neighboring former Soviet railway systems, particularly Kazakhstan. The network is also connected to Iran, although the Iranian railway uses a different gauge, requiring a break-of-gauge arrangement for cross-border traffic. Following Turkmenistan’s independence, railway responsibilities remained closely tied to the state. The national rail administration combined regulatory, infrastructure, carrier, and maintenance functions. The network expanded to serve the country’s major urban centers, industrial areas, border crossings, and regional transport routes. A new rail connection with Kazakhstan opened in 2013, strengthening the northern international link and supporting the development of Central Asian freight corridors. The Iranian connection provided a southern route toward Iranian ports and markets, although the gauge difference added operational complexity. An institutional change took place on 29 January 2019, when the Ministry of Railways was reduced to agency status and renamed the Turkmen Railways Agency. The agency was placed under the reorganized ministry responsible for industry and communications, later reorganized again as the Ministry of Industry and Construction. This change separated the policy and administrative role of the railway authority from the commercial carrier functions that were later assigned to Demirýollary. Demirýollary open joint-stock company was established on 5 February 2020 as a commercial subsidiary of the Railways Agency. Its founders included the agency, the Ashgabat Track and Structures Division, the state transport-logistics organization Türkmenistanyň Ulag-logistika merkezi, and the mobile operator Altyn Asyr. A presidential decree transferred freight and passenger carrier functions to the new company. Demirýollary also retained or controlled operational assets and supporting units, including locomotive and railcar depots, stations, construction and maintenance divisions, communications, power supply, and two hotels in Awaza. The company’s principal business is the operation of passenger and freight trains. It serves the domestic market while participating in international rail movements through Kazakhstan and Iran. Passenger ticketing was partly digitized before the company’s creation: an online ticket service was launched on 1 June 2019, followed by Android and iOS applications. Passenger accommodation includes four-berth compartment coaches, six-berth couchette coaches, and two-berth sleeping compartments. The railway’s equipment base has included locomotives from Soviet and post-Soviet production as well as newer imports from China, Russia, and Kazakhstan. Reported locomotive classes include the 2TE10L, 2TE10U, 2M62U, CKD9A, TE33A, 2TE25KM, TEP70BS, TEM2, TEM2U, and ChME3 families. Passenger and freight equipment has also been sourced from China; in 2013, Turkmenistan ordered 154 passenger coaches from CSR. A 2019 fleet assessment recorded 119 diesel locomotives, 10,056 freight wagons, and 425 passenger cars. It also identified a significant modernization challenge, with roughly 65 percent of the wagon fleet at least 30 years old. Chinese supplier CRRC Ziyang has become a major rolling-stock partner. By August 2025, it was reported to have delivered 294 locomotives to Turkmenistan, with those locomotives handling more than 98 percent of the country’s railway transportation. A major overhaul program in July 2025 updated key mechanical and electrical systems and introduced intelligent controls and safety-monitoring technologies. These investments indicate an emphasis on extending equipment life and improving reliability while the wider fleet is gradually renewed. Today, Demirýollary remains a state-controlled strategic carrier rather than a publicly traded consumer-facing brand. Its importance derives from the size of the national network, its role in domestic passenger mobility, its freight capacity, and its position within overland corridors connecting Central Asia with Iran and the Caspian region.

• 2025

  Locomotive modernization program

  [1]Demirýollaryen.wikipedia.org

  CRRC Ziyang conducted major overhauls of locomotives serving Turkmenistan, including propulsion, running gear, electrical, control, and safety systems.

• 2021

  Passenger operations restored

  [1]Demirýollaryen.wikipedia.org

  Passenger traffic was fully restored in spring 2021 with testing, distancing, masking, and carriage-disinfection requirements.

• 2020

  Demirýollary open joint-stock company formed

  [1]Demirýollaryen.wikipedia.org

  The company was established on 5 February 2020 and received responsibility for freight and passenger carrier operations.

• 2020

  Passenger train operations suspended

  [1]Demirýollaryen.wikipedia.org

  Passenger services were suspended in July 2020 as part of infectious-disease prevention measures.

• 2019

  Railways ministry converted into an agency

  [1]Demirýollaryen.wikipedia.org

  The Ministry of Railways was downgraded and renamed the Turkmen Railways Agency, creating the administrative structure under which the later carrier company was formed.

• 2019

  Online railway ticketing introduced

  [1]Demirýollaryen.wikipedia.org

  An online passenger-ticketing service was launched on 1 June 2019, later complemented by mobile applications.

• 2013

  Rail link with Kazakhstan opens

  [1]Demirýollaryen.wikipedia.org

  A new railway connection with Kazakhstan opened, strengthening Turkmenistan’s northern regional rail access using the shared broad-gauge system.

State-owned national railway carrier and strategic logistics operator serving domestic transport needs and regional freight corridors.

• Passenger transportation

  Passenger rail services

  Domestic passenger trains connect Turkmenistan’s principal cities and railway stations. The service uses compartment sleepers, couchette cars, and two-berth sleeping compartments. Tickets are available through railway sales channels, online systems, and mobile applications. Passenger traffic is a major operating activity, serving nearly six million travelers annually according to cited company information.

• Freight transportation

  Freight rail services

  Freight transportation supports domestic industry and cross-border logistics. The railway system includes tanker, gondola, platform, hopper, box, and refrigerated wagons, allowing the movement of liquid bulk, dry bulk, general cargo, containers, and temperature-sensitive goods. International access through Kazakhstan and Iran gives the freight business a regional corridor function.

• Infrastructure operations · 2020

  Railway infrastructure and depot services

  Demirýollary owns or operates supporting assets including locomotive and railcar depots, railway stations, track-construction and maintenance units, communications systems, and power-supply services. These activities support the operation of the approximately 4,980-kilometer national network and its more than 345 stations.

• Hospitality

  Railway hospitality services

  The company owns two hotels in Awaza, identified as the Kerwen and Türkmenbaşy hotels. These properties are ancillary assets associated with the wider railway organization rather than core transport products.

• 2025

  Modernize Chinese-built diesel locomotivesGeneration change

  Background

  Locomotives supplied by CRRC Ziyang had become central to Turkmenistan’s railway operations, creating a need to extend their service lives and improve onboard systems.

  Action taken

  CRRC Ziyang performed major overhauls covering bogies, diesel engines, electrical systems, intelligent control systems, safety monitoring, and ergonomic improvements.

  Aftermath

  The program strengthened the role of Chinese-built locomotives in the national fleet and addressed reliability and modernization requirements.

  Source

• 2020

  Transfer passenger and freight carrier functions to DemirýollaryStrategy

  Background

  The state sought to place railway transportation activities in a commercial subsidiary while retaining the railway system under state agency oversight.

  Action taken

  Demirýollary open joint-stock company was formed on 5 February 2020, with freight and passenger carrier functions transferred to it.

  Aftermath

  Demirýollary became the operating railway carrier while the Railways Agency remained responsible for the wider state railway framework.

  Source

• 2020

  Suspend passenger trains during infectious-disease controlsOther

  Background

  Passenger movement was halted as part of measures intended to prevent the spread of infectious disease.

  Action taken

  Passenger train operations were suspended from 16 July 2020. When service resumed, the company implemented testing, temperature checks, masks, distancing, and frequent disinfection.

  Aftermath

  Passenger traffic was fully restored in spring 2021 under enhanced health procedures.

  Source

• 2019

  Separate railway administration from carrier operationsStrategy

  Background

  Turkmenistan reorganized its railway governance by reducing the Ministry of Railways to agency status and placing it under the ministry responsible for industry and communications.

  Action taken

  The renamed Railways Agency retained administrative and infrastructure responsibilities, preparing the separation of commercial carrier functions into a dedicated company.

  Aftermath

  The restructuring culminated in the creation of Demirýollary as an open joint-stock carrier in February 2020.

  Source

• 2025

  CRRC Ziyang undertakes major locomotive overhauls[1]Demirýollaryen.wikipedia.org

  Product generation · Other

  Chinese manufacturer CRRC Ziyang carried out major overhauls of diesel locomotives used in Turkmenistan, including work on bogies, engines, electrical systems, intelligent controls, safety monitoring, and driver ergonomics.

• 2021

  Passenger rail service restored after pandemic suspension[1]Demirýollaryen.wikipedia.org

  Regulation · Other

  Passenger traffic resumed after the 2020 suspension, with passengers required to comply with documented health and boarding procedures.

• 2020

  Demirýollary established as a railway carrier[1]Demirýollaryen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  An open joint-stock company was formed on 5 February 2020 to assume freight and passenger carrier functions previously associated with the railway administration.

• 2020

  Passenger trains suspended during infectious-disease controls[1]Demirýollaryen.wikipedia.org

  Regulation · Other

  Passenger train movement was suspended on 16 July 2020. Service was restored in spring 2021 under health controls including testing, temperature checks, mask requirements, distancing, and enhanced carriage disinfection.

• 2019

  Turkmenistan reorganizes its railway administration[1]Demirýollaryen.wikipedia.org

  Leadership change

  The Ministry of Railways was downgraded to agency status on 29 January 2019 and renamed the Turkmen Railways Agency, becoming subordinate to the reorganized ministry responsible for industry and communications.

1. 1Demirýollaryen.wikipedia.org