Multimodal shipments launched from China to Azerbaijan as part of Eurasian Transport Route - Azerbaijan Railways
BAKU. Nov 26 (Interfax) - The legal process of registering the Eurasian Transport Route International Association, headquartered in Baku, has been completed in accordance with the legislation of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) reported, citing its chairman Rovshan Rustamov.
The association's founders held a general meeting in Baku on Tuesday that was attended by the leadership of the railway administrations of the association's member countries Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, ADY said.
Rustamov said that, amid growing freight traffic between China and Europe in both directions, diversifying transport routes has become essential, and enabling the Eurasian Transport Route to function at full capacity is crucial to achieving this.
"It was highlighted that the Eurasian Transport Route, regarded as the southern branch of the Middle Corridor [Trans-Caspian International Transport Route], connects China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye. Starting this month, multimodal transportation has commenced from China's Kashgar city to Azerbaijan, passing through Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.
The construction of the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China railway will further enhance the role of the Eurasian Transport Route and, by creating a link between the Middle Corridor and the Trans-Afghan corridor, this route will open new opportunities for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Rustamov said.
The development of the southern branch of the Middle Corridor will enable Azerbaijan to become a key bridge between Central Asia and Europe and increase transit volumes through the country, and maximize the use of crucial infrastructure such as the Port of Baku and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, while the Zangezur corridor will further expand this potential, he said.
ADY also said that the meeting resolved to prepare the charters of the committee for the development of the Eurasian Transport Route and of the special working groups on dispatching, infrastructure development, commercial affairs, digitalization, marketing, communications, and legal matters, as well as to draft a detailed marketing plan for 2026 and submit the agreed drafts for discussion at the next general meeting.
The participants in the meeting determined that a number of measures must be implemented to organize the association's activities, including analyzing the current situation regarding intermodal transportation along the Eurasian Transport Route, identifying and addressing bottlenecks, applying IT solutions and digital platforms for transportation management and ensuring the further development of the route.
"In addition, the importance of establishing partnership relations between the Association and stakeholders across the Eurasian region - including Central European countries, China, and Pakistan - as well as international organizations, was emphasized, along with the need to implement promotional activities to increase the Route's visibility and strengthen its position in the Eurasian intermodal transport services market," ADY said.
The railway administrations of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China and Austria agreed to create the European Transport Route Association, with headquarters in Baku, in September 2024.
The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor, is an international transport corridor that runs through China, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and onward to Turkey and European countries. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway is part of the corridor.
