Chinese state railway CR has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Azerbaijani state railway ADY to intensify cooperation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR). The corridor through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Turkey is an alternative to the northern corridor through Russia and offers a shorter connection between China and Europe. In addition, China Railway Container Transport (CRCT) is to join the Middle Corridor Multimodal joint venture founded by ADY, Kazakh state railway KTZ and Georgian state railway SR. The objectives are to increase container transport capacity across the Caspian Sea and to operate up to ten block trains per day. In 2024, rail freight transport between China and Azerbaijan grew by 47% to 612,000 t. Another MoU with KTZ aims to improve infrastructure and develop new and existing lines to promote container transport in intermodal transport.
