Carriage of containers via TITR to grow tenfold within 15 years

As many as 470,000 freight containers will go through the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) connecting China and Europe or 800,000 containers if all Central Asia is taken into account, the press service of Mazhilis, the lower chamber of Kazakhstan’s parliament reported, citing the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

For comparison: In 2023, only 20,500 containers went through the TITR, which was a 39% decline over 2022. However, over the first four months of 2024, about 10,400 containers were shipped via the route, a 70.4% increase compared to the same period last year.

TITR container freight volume is expected to grow partly because of a new agreement between Kazakhstan and China aimed at the further development of the route. It was signed on October 17, 2023, and ratified by the Mazhilis on May 29, 2024.

«Under the agreement, the two sides are going to approve a potential annual volume of shipping through the TITR, exchange data related to tracking railway cars within the territory of the two states, Chinese assistance in financing pipeline and seaport infrastructure of the TITR and transit cargo shipping between Kazakhstan and China,» the press services reported.

By 2027, the cargo freight is expected to grow to ten million tons, while delivering cargo from China to Europe will take just 12 to 13 days.

As of today, transporting companies need 19 to 23 days to deliver transit freight from China to Europe (six days across Kazakhstan), while the current cargo traffic is about six million tons.