Three conclusions first. One: the "Middle Corridor" is a family of transport products, not a single product you can book. The tariff page of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route association (TITR) splits feeder container service via Baku's Alat port, feeder service via Baku's Govsan port, Caspian ferry service and wagon shipments into separate tables; the 2026 tables were approved by the association's Working Group on December 5, 2025. A different port, loading method or carrier leg means a different product, so a request that only says "via the Middle Corridor" tends to return quotes that cannot be compared.
Two: check what a transit time actually measures. TITR's 2026 feeder tariff via Alat starts at Altynkol station (the Kazakh station opposite Khorgos) and lists 7 days to the Georgian ports of Poti or Batumi, 10 days to Istanbul via Akhalkalaki in Georgia and Kars in Türkiye, and 9 days to Constanta in Romania via Batumi and the Black Sea; a note says the days may be adjusted for weather at Caspian and Black Sea ports. ÖBB Rail Cargo Group says in its May 2025 brochure that its China–Europe Middle Corridor service takes around 30 days. The first figures are sectional table days from a Kazakh station to a port or station; the second is one carrier's end-to-end product figure. Neither equals the real door-to-door time of a given shipment, which should be confirmed in writing by the carrier.
Three: easier transit does not mean no customs. The corridor is not a single customs territory. Kazakhstan applies Eurasian Economic Union transit rules, Azerbaijan has its own formalities, Georgia and Türkiye can use common transit, an entry summary declaration is needed before the EU, and the destination country still requires import clearance. Who declares and who provides the customs security on each leg should be written into the contract.
Each of the three common routings fits a different case. The first is rail, then the Caspian, then Turkish rail: cargo enters Kazakhstan at Altynkol or Dostyk (opposite Alashankou), crosses the Caspian from Aktau or Kuryk to Alat in Azerbaijan, then runs via Akhalkalaki in Georgia on the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway into Türkiye; it suits cargo bound for Türkiye. The second switches to sea at Poti or Batumi and crosses the Black Sea to Constanta or other ports; it suits Romania and Southeast Europe, at the cost of one more sea connection. The third is trucks taking a Ro-Ro ferry from Kuryk across the Caspian, then through Azerbaijan and Georgia to Türkiye or Europe; it is flexible door to door, but vehicle permits, drivers, transit security and dangerous-goods acceptance must be confirmed leg by leg.
The road option has a precedent. The International Road Transport Union (IRU) wrote on July 4, 2025 that Chinese operators now run regular commercial trans-Caspian services under the TIR system, and that the first shipment of lithium-ion batteries from China to Türkiye covered about 7,000 km in about three weeks. That is a single case and cannot be generalised to all battery cargo or vehicle types.
Port choice should not rest on design capacity alone. Kazakhstan's Prime Minister's office reported on July 1, 2025 that the first phase of the Aktau port container hub opened on June 9 that year, with the whole project due in December 2026, raising container capacity from 70,000 to 240,000 TEU; trade outlet Railway Supply also reported the 240,000 TEU design capacity. That is a project target, not current capacity. Port Kuryk's website shows railway ferry berths and a truck Ro-Ro berth and publishes vessel traffic and the loading queue; a port notice says 2026 contracts with Kazakhstan residents are signed on an electronic portal, while foreign companies still apply by email and exchange paper copies. An official Azerbaijani transport connectivity brochure from September 2025 says the Port of Baku (Alat) has 13 berths, current capacity of 15 million tonnes and 100,000 TEU, and planned expansion to 25 million tonnes and 500,000 TEU. In Georgia, terminal operator APM Terminals says Poti handles about 80% of the country's container traffic; the Batumi terminal capacity figure comes from operator ICTSI's 2019 expansion announcement, so current usable capacity needs separate checking.
The Caspian leg is the easiest to underestimate. The vessel tracking page of Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO) notes that in favourable weather and with free berths its ships sail at intervals of about 1 to 2 days; on October 8 the page showed a vessel en route from Kuryk to Alat with an expected crossing of about 20 hours. Sailing is only part of the Caspian leg; waiting, loading and port formalities often take longer and should be itemised in a quote.
Rules related to this news
How costs are built matters more than a headline number. The notes to the TITR table list many conditions: containers must move as complete wagon sets, at least two 20-foot or one 40-foot container per platform; transit from China via Kazakhstan requires a train of at least 57 standard wagons or a group of at least five 20-foot equivalents; rates within Türkiye exclude border transshipment, customs procedures, customs security and container tracking (KTF); the Black Sea leg to Constanta is confirmed when the booking is approved; and rates for IMDG dangerous goods are agreed case by case with sea carriers. ASCO's Caspian rates in the table are stated as valid only until March 31, 2026, so the annual table is useful for understanding cost structure, not as an October shipping price. For trucks, the Turkish carriers' association UND on June 2 and Azerbaijani outlet Vesti.az on June 3 both reported that ASCO revised its Caspian Ro-Ro tariffs from June 11, charging per running metre of vehicle, with the coefficients for heavy vehicles unchanged. Ask carriers for written quotes on actual amounts; this article does not quote prices.
Customs should be split into transit, EU entry filing and final import. Article 142 of the EAEU Customs Code provides that, when conditions are met, goods moving from the customs office of departure to the customs office of destination under transit do not pay customs duties and taxes; Article 143 lists conditions including security under Article 146, identification of goods and sealable vehicles. On common transit, the European Commission's list shows Türkiye has applied the procedure since December 1, 2012 and Georgia since February 1, 2025; Azerbaijan is not on the list. Georgia's Revenue Service says the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS) allows one electronic transit declaration and one security. On TIR, the IRU explains that TIR is intermodal on condition that at least part of the journey is by road, so pure rail plus sea cannot simply rely on it. The European Commission announced on June 1 that from that date all consignments entering the EU by any means of transport should have a valid entry summary declaration (ENS), filed directly in ICS2 or through the combined transit declaration in NCTS Phase 6 in opt-in countries. None of this replaces import declaration and duties in the destination country. A customs broker should confirm each shipment in writing based on the goods and the trade terms; this article is not customs advice.
Dangerous goods need acceptance on every leg. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) says the IMDG Code 2024 Edition (including Amendment 42-24) is mandatory from January 1, 2026; rail and road legs have their own rules. For cargo such as lithium batteries, confirm classification, packaging, marking and declaration documents first, then obtain acceptance from rail, port, shipping line and road carriers separately; if any leg is unconfirmed, the whole route cannot be treated as feasible.
A request for quotation can be prepared like this: use the same origin and destination addresses, HS code, weight, container type and shipping window for every option; name the carrier, port, loading method and transshipment point for each leg; mark every cost item as included or excluded and never enter zero for unknowns; state the declarant, the party providing customs security, the party responsible for the EU ENS and the final importer for each leg; define the start and end events of the transit time and ask for recent actual arrival records of the same product. For Türkiye, compare the rail option via Kars first; for Southeast Europe, also request the Black Sea option via Constanta. Run one or two trial shipments before deciding on a long-term shift.
Looking further ahead, the World Bank said in a report released on September 28 that with the right investments the trans-Caspian corridor could more than triple trade volumes and halve travel times by 2040, and with efficiency reforms volumes could quadruple and travel times fall by two-thirds. It estimates more than $25 billion of infrastructure investment will be needed through 2040. These are model scenarios, not current schedules; shipments today still need each leg verified.
Sources:
TITR Association, https://middlecorridor.com/en/for-clients/tariffs
TITR Association, 2026 tariff via Alat, https://middlecorridor.com/images/tariffs/2026/3-en.pdf
ÖBB Rail Cargo Group, https://www.railcargo.com/en/dms/promotions/rcg-promotion-im-middle-corridor-en.pdf
IRU, https://www.iru.org/news-resources/newsroom/direct-express-enhanced-china-europe-connectivity
IRU, TIR Q&A, https://www.iru.org/system/files/Questions%20and%20answers%20following%20the%20IRU%20webinar%20on%20TIR%20for%20Brexit%20on%201%20February%202021.pdf
Prime Minister of Kazakhstan (official website), https://primeminister.kz/ru/news/pyat-transgranichnykh-khabov-kazakhstana-itogi-i-plany-30219
Railway Supply, https://www.railway.supply/container-terminal-launched-in-aktau-port-to-support-titr/
Port Kuryk, https://portkuryk.kz/en
Azerbaijan transport connectivity brochure (transit.gov.az), https://transit.gov.az/storage/Transport-Connectivity-Brochure-15092025.pdf
APM Terminals Poti, https://akamai.apmterminals.com/en/poti
ICTSI, https://www.ictsi.com/press-releases/ictsi-batumi-terminal-builds-capacity-facilitate-bigger-cargo-flow
ASCO, https://cabinet.asco.az/passenger-ticket
UND, https://www.und.org.tr/medya-detay/duyurular/hazar-gecislerinde-azerbaycan-ro-ro-tarifeleri-guncelleniyor
Vesti.az, https://vesti.az/ekonomika/azerbaidzan-vvodit-novye-tarify-na-paromnye-perevozki-po-kaspiyu-597747
Eurasian Economic Commission, https://eec.eaeunion.org/upload/medialibrary/9dd/Customs-Code-of-the-EAEU.pdf
European Commission (common transit), https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/customs/customs-procedures-import-and-export/customs-transit_en
Revenue Service of Georgia, https://www.rs.ge/NCTS-en
European Commission (ICS2), https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/customs/customs-security/import-control-system-2_en
IMO, https://www.imo.org/en/publications/pages/imdg%20code.aspx
World Bank, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2026/09/28/trans-caspian-transport-corridor-investments-spur-growth-and-create-millions-jobs
Key facts
- The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route Association (TITR) classifies feeder vessel via Alat Port, feeder vessel via Hovsan Port, Caspian Sea ferry, and full wagon transport into different tariff schedules.
- ÖBB Rail Cargo Group states in its May 2025 product brochure that its Middle Corridor service from China to Europe has a transit time of about 30 days.
- IRU states that Chinese operators have already carried out regular commercial transport across the Caspian Sea under the TIR system, and that a lithium battery shipment from China to Turkey covers about 7,000 km in total and takes about three weeks.
- The Office of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan announced on 1 July 2025 that the first phase of the Aktau Port container hub was commissioned on 9 June of that year, and the entire project is planned for completion in December 2026.
- An Azerbaijani official transport connectivity brochure released in September 2025 states that Baku Port (Alat) has 13 berths and a current capacity of 15 million tonnes and 100,000 TEU.
- The European Commission notified on 1 June that, as of that date, goods entering the EU by any mode of transport must have a valid Entry Summary Declaration (ENS).
FAQ
Is the Middle Corridor a fixed route?
No. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route is a multi-leg combination of rail, Caspian Sea ferry or feeder vessel, Black Sea shipping, and road, with different port areas, loading methods, and carrier legs corresponding to different transport products.
Can the transit times listed in the TITR tariff schedule be regarded as end-to-end transit times?
The 2026 TITR feeder vessel tariff schedule via Alat Port starts from Altynkol station and lists 7 days to Poti or Batumi, 10 days to Istanbul, and 9 days to Constanța; the table note states that the number of days will be adjusted according to weather at Caspian and Black Sea ports. These are the number of days listed in a segment table and do not equal the actual number of days for a particular shipment from a Chinese warehouse to the customer's hands.
Is there a single unified customs territory along the Middle Corridor?
No. The Kazakhstan segment applies the Eurasian Economic Union transit regime; Azerbaijan has its own procedures; Georgia and Turkey can use common transit; before entering the EU, an Entry Summary Declaration must be made; and upon arrival in the destination country, import procedures must still be completed.
What should be noted when shipping dangerous goods via the Middle Corridor?
The International Maritime Organization states that the 2024 edition of the IMDG Code will be mandatorily applicable from 1 January 2026, and that rail and road segments each have their own rules. For cargo such as lithium batteries, classification, packaging, marking, and declaration documents must first be confirmed, and acceptance must then be obtained separately from the rail, port, shipping line, and road carriers.
What should be clearly stated when requesting a quotation?
It is recommended that each option use the same set of origin and destination addresses, HS codes, weights, container types, and shipping windows; specify the carrier, port area, loading method, and transshipment point for each segment; and state item by item whether costs are included or not. It is also necessary to clearly state the declarant, guarantor, EU ENS responsible party, and final importer for each segment; for transit times, specify the start and end events and request actual arrival records for the same product over the past few months.