Railway companies from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia have signed a cooperation agreement with China Railway Container Transport Corp., Ltd. (CRCT) to jointly develop the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor – a strategic link connecting China and Europe via Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
The agreement was signed during the Second China Railway Express Cooperation Forum, held on 18 November in Xi’an, under the theme “Connecting Asia and Europe for a Shared Future.”
According to Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the country’s national railway operator, the agreement establishes formal cooperation between Chinese railways, through CRCT, and MIDDLE CORRIDOR MULTIMODAL Ltd., a joint venture created in 2023 by the railway companies of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.
The initiative aims to enhance the efficiency, safety, digitalization, and sustainability of China-Europe rail container transport services along the trans-Caspian route.
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia play key roles along the TITR, which offers a vital alternative trade corridor between China and Europe that bypasses Russia. In recent years, Kazakhstan has strengthened its position as a regional transit hub.
KTZ reports that freight transportation between Kazakhstan and China has increased more than 4.5-fold over the past decade. For 2025, total freight volume is projected to reach 35 million tons, with over 29 million tons transported in the first ten months, an 11% year-on-year increase.
Joint infrastructure projects in China and Kazakhstan, including hubs in Lianyungang, Khorgos, and Xi’an, continue to demonstrate strong growth. Container shipments have more than quintupled in the past ten years, exceeding 1.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
Momentum along the Trans-Caspian route also remains strong: the number of container trains increased by 12% in the first ten months of this year.
To capitalise on this growth, Kazakhstan is investing in railway infrastructure. Modernization and construction of 5,000 kilometers of railway track is underway, which will raise the country’s annual cross-border freight capacity with China to 100 million tons in the coming years.
Sergey Kwan
