Middle Corridor Freight Volumes Rise 70% in 2024

In the first nine months of 2024, cargo volume along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor, surged by 70 percent, reaching 3.4 million tons.

The announcement was made on Wednesday by Kazakhstan’s Minister of Transport, Marat Karabayev.

Karabayev highlighted the significant share of container shipments in total freight volume along the Middle Corridor. According to him, the container cargo volumes tripled in January-September this year compared to the same period last year, reaching 34,600 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit).

Additionally, container transit from China grew by more than 20 times since the beginning of this year.

In September, Azerbaijan Railways Chairman Rovshan Rustamov announced that more than 210 container trains or over 420,000 tons of cargo traveled on the Middle Corridor from China to Azerbaijan, including both import and transit goods.

The goal is to receive at least 300 trains by the yearend. Ultimately, 1,000 container trains are scheduled to be sent from China to the markets in the west via the TITR.

“In March of this year, the first container train from China's Xi'an port to Azerbaijan was delivered in just 11 days. On average, block trains are delivered from China to Azerbaijan within 8-10 days, and to Georgian ports within 12 days. By the end of this year, about 300 container block trains are planned to be sent from China through the Middle Corridor, which is equivalent to a cargo volume of about 30,000 TEU,” Rustamov said.

He noted that another branch of the Middle Corridor is emerging on the eastern side of the Caspian Sea through China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye, combining railways, maritime routes and highways. To effectively organize the coordination along this route and its overall development, the participating nations gathered in Baku last month to discuss the establishment of a collegial body, known as the Eurasian Transport Route International Association.

The Middle Corridor covers roughly 4,250 kilometers of railway and approximately 500 kilometers of sea routes. The goal of this corridor is to facilitate access for Chinese and Central Asian goods to European markets via the Caspian Sea, Türkiye, and the Black Sea.

In addition to its efficiency, the Middle Corridor benefits from a more favorable climate, reducing travel time by 15 days compared to traditional sea routes. It also presents substantial opportunities for cargo movement across Asia, enabling goods to reach the Middle East, North Africa, and the Mediterranean region through integrated port connections in Türkiye.

Austrian Railways, a European member of the Association, recently revealed plans to leverage the Middle Corridor’s potential, particularly for cargo deliveries to China. In September, China Railway Container Transport Corporation (CRTC) joined the “Middle Corridor Multimodal Ltd.” – a joint venture of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Georgia – to enhance trade ties with Europe and Central Asia.

Last month, a container block train departed from the Xi’an port of China on a multimodal route traversing the ports of Altynkol and Aktau in Kazakhstan, Alat in Azerbaijan, Poti in Georgia, Burgas in Bulgaria, Belgrade in Serbia, Budapest in Hungary, and Duisburg and Hamburg in Germany, along with railway networks. The new route aims to attract container cargoes sent to Hamburg via alternative transport corridors to the Middle Corridor. The block train is expected to reach its destination within 20-25 days.