China–Europe freight train departs via Middle Corridor, heading to Baku

A 45-container China–Europe freight train carrying photovoltaic modules belonging to the China Energy Engineering Group has departed from Xi’an.

According to Azernews, this marks the first train to leave China in 2026 via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, also known as the Middle Corridor. The train departed on January 1 and will cross the Horgos border checkpoint into Kazakhstan before reaching Baku via the Caspian Sea.

The timely delivery of the photovoltaic modules to Baku was made possible through Xi’an’s active involvement in developing the Trans-Caspian corridor, along with coordinated efforts by partner countries to reduce costs and improve efficiency. As a result, train traffic along the corridor has intensified, while transportation time has been reduced from 15–23 days to around 11 days.

The Trans-Caspian route of the China–Europe freight train from Xi’an was first launched in October 2019. By the end of November 2025, a total of 466 train journeys had been completed along this corridor.