The Middle Corridor is growing and developing. In the first half year of 2024, 9,3 million tonnes of freight travelled along it, an increase of 8 per cent. As a central part of the corridor, Azerbaijan plays an important role in this growth. Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) told RailFreight.com about how it tries to improve the route and attract more traffic.
The Middle Corridor acts as an alternative to China-Europe traffic through Russia. Europe would rather see freight travel along the route across the Caspian Sea, but it is a complex and expensive option. Yet, trade along the corridor has grown fourfold between 2021 and 2023. In those two years, volumes grew from approximately half a million tonnes of freight to 2,3 million tonnes. The first half of 2024 saw freight volumes grow by 8 per cent to 9,3 million tonnes. In total, 105 block trains from China travelled along the corridor during that time.
ADY explains that it initiated reforms in the organisation of the Middle Corridor. Expecting the growth trend to continue, it aimed to improve “coordination along the corridor with respect to organisation and movement of block trains”, it says. Moreover, it sought “better monitoring of bottlenecks and timely addressing of issues impeding movement of containers on the corridor.”
Infrastructure and procedural improvements
Besides the renovation and reopening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars line, with a fivefold upgraded capacity of 5 million tonnes, ADY says that a number of measures were taken to improve Middle Corridor performance. For instance, an Operating Management Service has been introduced, which speeds up operations at the Alat Port. Moreover, an interagency working group between ADY and the Middle Corridor’s customs committee was established. It facilitates customs clearance for block trains and reduces waiting times to two to four hours.
ADY also says that it has started to plan ahead more effectively to streamline operations on the Caspian Sea’s eastern coast. Azerbaijan wants to get its ducks in a row before freight arrives. At the same time, it is negotiating with Georgia to implement the same measures. Lastly, ADY has been growing its arsenal of fitting platforms to use on the Azerbaijan – Georgia rail line.
As a result, the delivery time of containers from the China-Kazakhstan border to Baku is now 7-8 days, says ADY. The transit time to Poti port is 10-11 days, and a trip to the Romanian port of Constanta takes days. For comparison, 2024’s first block train from China took 11 days to reach Azerbaijan.
Growing China’s trust in the Middle Corridor
Growing volumes along the corridor is more than just a question of process optimisation, as ADY shows with a charm offensive in China. ADY calls a visit to various senior-level Chinese executives in May 2024 a “major milestone” that helped to create mutual trust. “During the visit, Azerbaijan Railways showcased steps undertaken to improve the operational efficiency on the Azerbaijani part of the Corridor”, ADY says. It helped to present the “benefits of the Middle Corridor vis-à-vis alternative routes connecting South-East Asia with Europe.”