Middle Corridor or northern route: how to choose the right corridor

Two routes, one destination

Two main corridors have established themselves for rail freight between China and Europe. The northern route runs via Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus into Poland, usually crossing at Brest–Małaszewicze. The Middle Corridor, also called the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, runs via Kazakhstan to the port of Aktau, crosses the Caspian Sea to Baku and continues via Georgia and Türkiye into Europe.

What sets the northern route apart

• Continuous rail legs without a sea crossing
• High departure density, with more than a thousand routes in our transit network data
• Established transshipment points at the gauge-change stations
• Connection to the European network from Małaszewicze at 1–10 days terminal to terminal

Suitability of the northern route is checked for every cargo and route against current framework conditions.

What sets the Middle Corridor apart

• An alternative without transit through Russia and Belarus
• A combination of rail legs and a ferry crossing of the Caspian Sea
• Links to South-East Europe and Türkiye via Poti, Batumi and Istanbul
• Additional handovers and timetables that need to be factored into planning

How to decide

Always compare the entire transport chain: pre-carriage to the terminal in China, main leg, transshipments and on-carriage in Europe. A shorter main leg helps little if the next usable departure is ten days away.

Our recommendation

Plan recurring traffic with one main corridor and a pre-checked alternative. That keeps your supply chain able to act when conditions change. The Route Explorer shows which routes are listed via which corridor.