World Bank calls for improving competitiveness of Middle Corridor

Infrastructure Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia Charles Cormier has said today is the right time to increase the competitiveness of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, or Middle Corridor), expand its capacity, improve efficiency, and reduce costs.

"Short-term efficiency improvements through institutional and operational measures, along with medium-term investments, will strengthen the functioning of the Middle Corridor and activate its potential," he said, Trend reports.

The Middle Corridor links the container rail freight transportation networks of China and the European Union via Central Asia, the Caucasus, Türkiye and Eastern Europe.

A multilateral multimodal transportation infrastructure links the ferry terminals of the Caspian and Black Seas with the railway systems of China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye, Ukraine and Poland.

The Middle Corridor facilitates the flow of cargo from China to Türkiye, as well as to European countries and vice versa.

A route train along this corridor delivers cargo from China to Europe in an average of 20-25 days, and this is one of the key advantages of this transport corridor.