Institutional mechanisms of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route

2026-04-07

Levan Lomsadze, Founder and Director of “GEORAIL-consulting” LLC. Academic Doctor of Railway Engineering

In the process of forming the Middle Corridor as a competitive direction, the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) Coordination Committee is an important institutional mechanism. The concrete results of its activities are reflected in the increasing rates of transportation along the Middle Corridor.

In order to increase freight flows along the Middle Corridor, in 2014, the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) Development Coordination Committee was established.

From the very beginning, the TITR Coordination Committee was equipped with institutional mechanisms for the development of the Middle Corridor, later the newly created organization began to function in various directions, including: attracting additional cargo, forming an agreed transport and tariff policy, establishing measures to increase competitiveness in relation to alternative corridors, developing measures to mitigate administrative barriers at the borders of the countries participating in the corridor and at the junction points of railways.

Currently, the TITR Coordination Committee includes 8 permanent and 19 associate members from various countries, both commercial and non-commercial.

During the period of operation of TITR, which began in 2017, transportation indicators have been increasing steadily, the growth of cargo turnover has been increasing annually since 2021 and reached a maximum in 2025 - 1.9 million tons.

When comparing the transportation figures for 2024 and 2025, no significant progress is noted, which indicates the need to activate institutional mechanisms along the Middle Corridor.

As for container cargo, which is the most financially profitable direction for the corridor, significant progress is observed, namely in 2025 it reached a maximum of 76,900 TEU, which is a 36% increase compared to the previous year.

In 2023 - within the framework of the Tbilisi Silk Road Forum, in order to strengthen the Georgian transit corridor, in particular, to stimulate transportation between China, Europe and Turkey, a joint venture was signed between Georgia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan - the Middle Corridor Multimodal, which gave rise to a new trend in the development of the corridor.

The goal of the joint company was to promote the growth of container transportation in the Middle Corridor. Specifically, with the active involvement of the railways of the partner countries, the number of block carriers in the Middle Corridor was to increase and the service for cargo owners was to be provided on a "one-stop shop" basis.

In 2024 - the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route TITR Association determined container transportation tariffs on the two Kazakh sections of the Middle Corridor.

The tariff for a 20-foot container on the Dostyk (Kazakhstan-China border) - Aktau route was set at a fixed rate of 0.31 USD per container-kilometer, and on the Aktau-Dostyk route - at 0.16 USD per container-kilometer.

The establishment of a single “through” tariff on a specific route is undoubtedly a step forward for the Middle Corridor.

Due to the temporary closure of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway line during the modernization period, starting from 2023, in order to continue container transportation services from / to Turkey, the TITR Association approved new tariffs for feeder vessels on the Black Sea in 2024 from the ports of Poti and Batumi - via the port of Samsun - to the port of Karasu (Turkey).

2025 - China Railways joined the Middle Corridor Multimodal joint venture through its subsidiary CRCT (China Railway Container Transport Company).

The addition of a Chinese operator to the joint venture automatically contributed to the extension of the Middle Corridor route and the attraction of Chinese cargo flows. All this had a positive impact on the formation of block trains from China via the Middle Corridor. In 2025, a record 392 block trains were transported through the Middle Corridor.

In 2026, in order to attract additional cargo shipments and increase competitiveness on the Trans-Caspian International Transport TITR route, the route participants agreed on tariff conditions for transportation in the eastern direction.

Participating companies received a 50% discount on container shipments from the ports of Batumi and Poti to Kazakhstan and China.

Participating companies agreed on a 33% discount from Turkey to Kazakhstan, China and Central Asian countries via Kazakhstan.

It is worth noting that the tariff discounts imposed on container shipments from Georgia and Turkey to the East are important in terms of increasing “reverse” cargo, since one of the “bottlenecks” of the Middle Corridor is the lack and imbalance of container cargo from Europe to Central Asia.

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