TITR - The Times Of Central Asia

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Afghanistan

Opinion: The Southern Dimension of the Middle Corridor – Afghanistan’s Role in Eurasia’s New Logistics Landscape

Afghanistan’s integration into the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) is extending beyond local logistics and evolving into one of Eurasia’s key geo-economic projects. Amid the global transformation of supply chains, Central Asia has an opportunity to move beyond its role as a transit periphery and become an active participant in shaping new economic corridors, creating a full-fledged “southern dimension” of Eurasian connectivity. Two Routes: Strategic and Operational Two main directions for Afghanistan’s integration into the Eurasian transport system are currently under discussion, each reflecting a distinct development logic: strategic and pragmatic. The “Eastern Branch” (Termez-Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar) is traditionally viewed as the primary trans-Afghan route. Its key advantage is direct access to the ports of Karachi and Gwadar, providing the shortest connection between Central Asia and the Indian Ocean. At the same time, geography makes the project highly complex. The route passes through the central and eastern regions of Afghanistan, including the Hindu Kush mountain range, where long tunnels and bridges would be required. This would sharply increase construction and maintenance costs, extend implementation timelines, and heighten security and infrastructure risks. According to available estimates, the project could cost around $5 billion and handle 15-20 million tons of cargo annually. However, the lengthy investment cycle and dependence on political stability mean implementation remains a long-term prospect. The “Western Branch” (Turgundi-Herat-Kandahar-Spin Boldak) represents an alternative logistics corridor based on more favorable geography. Western Afghanistan is characterized by predominantly flat, semi-arid terrain, reducing the need for complex engineering structures and allowing the project to be implemented in phases. This significantly lowers capital costs, shortens construction timelines, and reduces infrastructure risks. The western route’s initial capacity is estimated at 7-10 million tons of cargo annually, making it the more realistic option for medium-term planning. An additional advantage is its geo-economic flexibility. Via Herat, the route could be integrated not only southward through Pakistan, but also westward through Iran, providing access to Persian Gulf ports. This would transform it into a multi-directional corridor capable of serving several logistics flows simultaneously. The Eastern Branch, therefore, remains the strategic option offering the shortest route to the ocean but requiring substantial investment and time. The Western Branch, meanwhile, presents a more pragmatic solution: faster to implement and more flexible from a geo-economic standpoint. The Role of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan in the “Western Maneuver” The implementation of the western trans-Afghan corridor depends on close coordination between two key regional players, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, which form the northern foundation of the future route by providing access to the Caspian Sea and, beyond it, global markets. Astana and Ashgabat are effectively creating a new geo-economic framework that could transform Central Asia from an isolated region into a strategic crossroads linking the Caspian Sea with the Indian Ocean. In 2026, Kazakhstan moved toward deeper institutionalization of the initiative, making the route through Herat and Kandahar a government priority. Astana’s strategy is multifaceted. In addition to establishing a permanent interdepartmental commission, Kazakhstan is actively seeking to attract international operators such as the Emirati AD...

Trans-Caspian Route

Kazakhstan to Develop Maritime Component of Trans-Caspian Transport Route

Kazakhstan’s national railway operator, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), is moving to build its own maritime fleet to expand the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR). Also known as the Middle Corridor, the TITR is a multimodal transport corridor linking China and Europe through Central Asia and the South Caucasus, offering an alternative to routes that pass through Russia. KTZ Express Shipping, a subsidiary of KTZ, has signed contracts for the construction of six general-purpose dry cargo container ships. Agreements have been concluded with China’s Jiangsu Haizhongzhou Shipping Industry Co., Ltd. for the construction of four vessels and with Azerbaijan’s Baku Shipyard for the construction of two. The vessels will be river-sea ships with a deadweight of up to 9,900 tons and a capacity of up to 537 TEUs, adapted for operations on both the Caspian and Black Sea routes. This is expected to support the integration of the maritime segment into the TITR’s multimodal logistics chain. The ships will be equipped with modern navigation systems in line with international requirements and environmental standards. Their safety, reliability, and environmental performance are expected to enhance their suitability for international routes and increase confidence among global shippers. The project is intended to give Kazakhstan a larger role in the TITR by establishing a sustainable maritime component of the route. Kazakhstan’s maritime transport sector has recorded steady growth in recent years. In 2025, maritime cargo volumes reached 8 million tons, a 7% increase compared to 2024. Container traffic through Kazakh seaports rose by 29% to 90,637 TEUs, while cargo volumes transported along the TITR increased by 36%. Under the country’s comprehensive maritime infrastructure development plan for 2024-2028, Kazakhstan intends to establish a major transport and logistics cluster based on the ports of Aktau and Kuryk. The plan includes expanding container handling capacity, developing cargo terminals and international shipping logistics, and reducing administrative barriers. By 2028, total cargo throughput at the ports is expected to increase by 50%, while container handling volumes are projected to triple. Plans are also in place to increase container traffic along the TITR, including the transit of 600 container trains from China through Kazakhstan this year. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, freight volumes transported along the Middle Corridor through Kazakhstan have grown more than five times over the past seven years, increasing from 0.8 million tonnes to 4.5 million tonnes annually.

Middle Corridor

Middle Corridor Countries Approve 2026 Plan, Focus on Digitalization and Container Growth

On April 24, Astana hosted a meeting of the Board and General Assembly of the international association “Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.” The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor, is a multimodal transport corridor linking China and Europe through Central Asia and the South Caucasus, offering an alternative to routes that pass through Russia. The meetings were attended by representatives of TITR member countries, Kazakhstan, China, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, as well as participants from several European countries, including Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Romania, and international partners such as Singapore. The participating countries approved a detailed work plan for 2026, with a key focus on the digitalization of transport processes. Participants agreed to implement electronic document management using digital signatures and to establish direct data exchange between customs authorities and other stakeholders involved in cargo transportation. According to Kazakhstan's national rail company, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), these measures are expected to reduce transit times and improve transparency along the route. The plan also envisages an increase in container traffic, including the transit of 600 container trains from China through Kazakhstan this year. Coordination between ports and terminals on the Caspian Sea will also be strengthened. Overall, the plan is aimed at reinforcing the TITR as a key transit corridor between Asia and Europe. In the first quarter of 2026, Kazakhstan recorded a significant increase in container train traffic along the TITR, underscoring the country’s growing role in Eurasian logistics. A total of 125 container trains transited through Kazakhstan via the corridor, marking a 34.4% increase compared to the same period in 2025. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, freight volumes transported along the Middle Corridor through Kazakhstan have grown more than fivefold over the past seven years, increasing from 0.8 million tonnes to 4.5 million tonnes annually.

Silk Roads

The Northern Silk Road and the Middle Corridor

The recent hostilities in the Persian Gulf and the ensuing naval blockades of Iran have brought into sharp relief the growing importance of the Middle Corridor – or Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) – the rapidly expanding trade link between Western China and Europe. This vast network of road, rail and maritime transport links had already increased in importance as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing sanctions, which have crippled large parts of Russia’s economy. With hundreds of container ships and oil tankers bottled up in the Gulf and the prospect of serious economic consequences, particularly in the developing world and for China and India, the idea of an overland – mostly – trade route to Europe is increasingly seen as a solution that provides a viable alternative in uncertain times. And not for the first time, as we shall discover. The TITR is around 3,000 km shorter than the so-called Northern Corridor through the Russian Federation, and transit times from China to Europe now average 10-15 days, compared to double that time for the Northern Corridor and anything up to 60 days for sea transport. According to World Bank estimates, the Middle Corridor could soon account for 20% of overland trade between China and the EU, with a tripling of current traffic levels by 2030, mainly due to economic growth in the Greater Caspian region. When planning began on the Middle Corridor almost 15 years ago, few people appreciated how rapidly it would develop. But as uncertainties over trade policies have increased, a route that avoids both the Russian Federation and the increasingly dispute-prone waterways in the Gulf and the Red Sea makes sense. Goods produced in Chinese factories in Chongqing, Xi’an and Urumqi can now be transported westward across Kazakhstan by rail to its Caspian Sea ports at Aktau and Kuryk. There are now major rail termini at the Kazakhstan-China border and more than 4,250 kms of rail lines in the network, together with 500 kms of sea transport. In Aktau on the Caspian, containers are loaded onto ships bound for Baku in Azerbaijan, where they are transferred onto the rolling stock of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) Railway for shipment into Turkey. The original plan was designed to handle 6.5 million tons of freight annually, but this figure is expected to top 17 million tons by 2034. New port facilities to handle the increasing number of containers arriving at Aktau and Kuryk have been financed by Kazakhstan’s Nurly Zhol Programme. Aktau, for example, is being dredged to enhance maritime safety and expand capacity. Its port currently handles up to 15 million tons of cargo a year. According to the TITR itself, around 57,000 containers travelled along the route in 2024, up from 20,500 in 2023. The route has continued to gather momentum in 2026: from January to March, 125 container trains were dispatched from China via the corridor, a 34.4% increase over the same period last year. Rail traffic volume increased by 5.7% in Azerbaijan...

Transportation

Kazakhstan Boosts Container Train Traffic Along Middle Corridor

In the first quarter of 2026 Kazakhstan recorded a significant increase in container train traffic along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor, underscoring the country’s growing role in Eurasian logistics. One hundred and twenty-five container trains transited through Kazakhstan via the TITR, marking a 34.4% increase compared to the same period in 2025. The growth was largely driven by a new logistics approach introduced by national railway operator Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) aimed at accelerating container transportation. Since January 2026, KTZ has implemented a synchronized model for forming container trains that aligns rail and maritime transport schedules. This system enables container trains to be assembled directly for shiploads, eliminating the need for additional cargo accumulation and significantly reducing handling times. The new model has already been applied to 28 container trains bound for key logistics hubs, including: Absheron, Azerbaijan; Poti and Tbilisi, Georgia; and Mersin and Izmit, Turkey. The TITR is a multimodal corridor linking China and Europe through Central Asia and the South Caucasus, providing an alternative to routes that pass through Russia. The geography of cargo origins has also broadened. While the Chinese city of Xi’an accounted for roughly 50% of all shipments in 2025, additional industrial centers have now joined the route, including Zhengzhou, Yiwu, Hefei, Wuhan, Tianjin, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. This diversification is expected to further strengthen the corridor’s resilience and capacity. KTZ plans to scale up the synchronized transportation model throughout 2026, enhancing the efficiency and competitiveness of the TITR. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, freight volumes transported along the Middle Corridor through Kazakhstan have grown more than fivefold over the past seven years, increasing from 0.8 million tons to 4.5 million tons annually. Container transportation has emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments of the route. In 2025, approximately 77,000 TEUs were transported along the TITR, and Kazakhstan aims to increase this figure to 300,000 TEUs by 2029, reflecting its ambition to position the corridor as a key artery for Eurasian trade.

Middle Corridor

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan Are Reinforcing the Middle Corridor’s South Caucasus Link

On April 7 Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev visited Tbilisi to hold talks with Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Bochorishvili and sign a 2026–2027 foreign-ministry cooperation program. He called Georgia “a key link” in the Europe–Asia transport architecture and said the common task was to raise corridor capacity, improve service predictability, and ensure tariff transparency. The materialization of the bilateral cooperation is already evident from last June’s opening of the Poti multimodal terminal by a joint Kazakhstani-Georgian company. The real meaning of Kosherbayev's discussions in Tbilisi lies in their context. On April 2 in Baku, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said Kazakhstan plans an intergovernmental agreement with Azerbaijan this year to strengthen the status of the Middle Corridor (also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor, TITR), and he proposed moving quickly on the Digital Monitoring Center under the Organization of Turkic States (OTS). On April 6 in Tbilisi, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called the Azerbaijan–Georgia segment the corridor’s “main transport artery.” Then on April 8 in Baku, Aliyev received Kosherbayev together with Kazakhstan’s transport minister. The official readout ranged from the Middle Corridor to joint investment, green-energy, and fiber-optic projects. Kosherbayev’s April 7 stop in Tbilisi thus belongs to a short Kazakhstan-led diplomatic run across the corridor’s western nodes. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan Tighten the Corridor Kazakhstan’s early-April engagement in the South Caucasus rests on its eastward-looking framework with China. Two China–Kazakhstan documents were already in evidence in October 2023: a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on deepening the development of the China-Europe Railway Trans-Caspian route, and an intergovernmental agreement on developing that route. China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) subsequently clarified that the agreement focused on stronger transit organization, fewer administrative barriers, and improved logistics and transport operations. In July 2024, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping jointly attended the opening of the Trans-Caspian direct fast transport service; NDRC then recorded a work mechanism with Kazakhstan’s transport ministry to carry that cooperation forward. On January 1, the first Trans-Caspian train of 2026 departed Xi’an for Baku carrying 45 containers of photovoltaic equipment. Chinese reports assert that the route had accumulated 466 runs by the end of November 2025, moved onto a weekly six-outbound and three-inbound timetable, and cut travel times from the roughly 20-day average recorded in 2025 to a standard 15 days, with the fastest runs taking 11 days. On April 3, it was also reported that there were 85 Xi’an Trans-Caspian trains in the first quarter of 2026, up 150% year-on-year, while the Kazakhstan–Xi’an terminal in Almaty handled more than 6,000 containers in that quarter alone, a 60% increase from a year earlier. A separate quasi-official Chinese trade-services portal reported that Trans-Caspian trains had reached daily service and that 371 such trains had run in January–October 2025, up 33%. China’s NDRC also said in late 2025 that Aktau and Baku should be strengthened as hub nodes in this corridor system. Azerbaijan is the indispensable partner without which the route’s western logic does not function. Bektenov’s...