Trans-Caspian Corridor

The Caspian crossing route linking China and Central Asia to Europe without touching Russia.

Overview

Also called the middle corridor, the route runs from Kazakhstan's Caspian ports of Aktau and Kuryk by ferry to Baku, then by the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway through Georgia and Turkey toward Europe. Sanctions after 2022 multiplied volumes as shippers quit Russian transit, but Caspian ferry capacity and port handling became instant bottlenecks. EU institutions flagged funding for ports and rolling stock. The corridor still carries a small fraction of China-Europe flows compared with the northern rail route and the sea, but it is the only land bridge that removes Russia from the map, which is now its whole selling point.