BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) has organized the first multimodal transportation of mineral fertilizers from Ekibastuz to the United Kingdom via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR or Middle Corridor), the company reports.
The shipment is being carried out using a combination of rail and maritime transport. The route passes through Kazakhstan, across the Caspian Sea, and further through Azerbaijan and Georgia. From the Georgian ports of Poti and Batumi, the cargo is transported by sea to the UK’s Port of Felixstowe.
"The new route has expanded opportunities for domestic enterprises to supply products to the UK market. The use of the TITR ensures competitive delivery times, diversification of transport routes and increased resilience of international supply chains," the company said.
Earlier, KTZ organized the export shipment of Kazakh products along the Ekibastuz–Miami route. Currently, KTZ provides cargo delivery services to the United States, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic and other countries.
The Middle Corridor is a multimodal trade route connecting Asia and Europe through several countries in the region and serving as an alternative to the traditional Northern and Southern corridors. The route begins in China and passes through Central Asian countries before crossing the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye, ultimately reaching Europe. It is a land-based transport route that bypasses longer maritime routes, linking the eastern parts of Asia, including China, with European markets.
Kazakhstan's Vice Minister of Trade and Integration Aset Nusupov told Trend that the corridor has become one of Kazakhstan's main strategic assets over the past decade.
"The figures speak for themselves. Over three years, from 2022 to 2025, the volume of transportation along the route increased more than fivefold. By the end of 2025, total cargo traffic reached 4.5–4.7 million tonnes, of which container transportation accounted for 76,900 TEUs (36% more than a year earlier)," the vice minister said.
He noted that in the first quarter of 2026, 125 container trains passed along the route, representing a 34.4% increase compared to the same period last year. Over the same period, 85 trains operated on the Xi'an - Alat Port route, twice as many as a year earlier. Delivery times along the route have nearly halved, decreasing from 28–32 days to 11–13 days.
