The Ankara Center for Crisis and Policy Studies (ANKASAM) presents the views of Alexandra Ogneva, Project Manager for Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia at Rhenus Group, on the recent developments of the Middle Corridor, its growing role in connecting Central Asia, the South Caucasus and Europe, the main steps needed to improve its efficiency and transit capacity, and cooperation among governments, railway operators and logistics companies.
1. How do you assess the recent development of the Middle Corridor and its growing role in connecting Central Asia, the South Caucasus and Europe?
Over the last few years, the Trans-Caspian-International Transport Route (Middle Corridor) has transformed from an alternative route into a strategic trade corridor connecting Asia and Europe. What is driving this development is not only geopolitics but also a structural shift in supply chain strategies of companies. Today, diversification has become one of the key priorities of the EU trade policy. So, for example, through its Global Gateway initiative and broader economic security strategy, the EU is actively promoting more diversified, resilient and reliable supply chains. The objective is not to replace existing trade routes, but to reduce dependencies by developing alternative, trusted transport corridors.
The Middle Corridor continues to demonstrate strong growth in container traffic. As one indicator of this growth, container throughput in the Port of Baku increased from 95,345 TEU in 2024 to approximately 107,000 TEU in 2025 – representing a year-on-year growth of around 12.2%. This trend underlines the corridor’s increasing importance for containerised trade between Asia and Europe.
At Rhenus, we have been active in Central Asia since the 1990s and established our operations entities in Türkiye and Azerbaijan in the early 2000s. This long-standing regional presence allows us to see the corridor not only from a strategic perspective but also through day-to-day operations.
Türkiye has a particularly important role to play. It is much more than the western end of the corridor, it is the natural logistics bridge between Asia and Europe, combining modern rail infrastructure, strong intermodal connections and direct access to European markets. As transport volumes continue to grow, Türkiye will remain one of the key enablers of the corridor’s future success.
2. What operational and institutional measures are most important for improving the corridor’s efficiency, reliability and transit capacity?
Infrastructure investments remain important, but they are only one part of the solution. The next stage of development is operational excellence.
Customers today expect reliable transit times, transparent information and proactive communication. This requires full visibility across the entire transport chain, supported by digital data exchange, harmonised operational procedures and coordinated management of the corridor as one integrated logistics system rather than a series of individual transport legs.
Equally important is closer institutional cooperation. Railways, ports, customs authorities and logistics companies need to work with shared operational standards, faster information exchange and joint performance management.
In our experience, many delays do not occur because infrastructure is missing, but because interfaces between organisations and countries are not yet sufficiently synchronised. Improving these interfaces will often create greater capacity than infrastructure investments alone.
3. How can cooperation among governments, national rail operations and logistics companies support the corridor’s long-term development?
The Middle Corridor is, by definition, an international corridor. Its competitiveness depends on how effectively all stakeholders cooperate across borders. In general, the roles are clearly complementary:
- Governments provide the regulatory framework and invest in transport infrastructure.
- National railway operators ensure operational connectivity and network performance.
- Logistics companies contribute market knowledge, customer requirements and operational expertise.
From our perspective, the dialogue between the public and private sectors should become even more structured. Companies operating along the corridor can identify operational bottlenecks at an early stage and provide valuable feedback on where processes can be simplified, harmonised or digitalised.
As an international logistics provider, Rhenus Group maintains an active dialogue with governments and public authorities in the countries where we develop logistics and transport projects. Beyond implementing transport solutions, we contribute our operational expertise to initiatives aimed at increasing containerisation, improving the modal split in favour of rail and intermodal transport, and advancing more sustainable transport systems. We believe that combining public-sector ambitions with private-sector operational experience is essential for the long-term success of the Middle Corridor.
Ultimately, the long-term success of the Middle Corridor will not be measured only by the number of trains or transported container units. It will be measured by its ability to provide customers with a reliable, resilient and competitive alternative between Asia and Europe. Achieving this requires continued investment, stronger regional cooperation and, above all, a shared commitment to diversification and supply chain resilience.
