Baku, September 9th (Xinhua) - The 5th anniversary and reception ceremony of the China Europe Railway Express (Zhejiang) Cross Caspian International Transport Corridor was held on September 9th in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani officials said at the event that they will promote an increase in the number of China Europe freight trains passing through the country.

On September 9th, the 237th train of the China Europe Railway (Zhejiang) Cross Caspian International Transport Corridor arrived at the Apcheren Logistics Center in Baku. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Shuchen

On that day, the 237th train of the China Europe Railway (Zhejiang) Cross Caspian International Transport Corridor arrived at the Apcheren Logistics Center in Baku. The train departs from Zhejiang, passes through Central Asia, and arrives in Baku using the "iron sea iron" multimodal transport mode, saving about one-third of the time compared to traditional sea transportation.

On September 9th, container unloading operations were underway at the Baku Apcheren Logistics Center. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Shuchen

Fariz Aliyev, Director of the Transport Policy Department of the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan, said that in the past five years, the transit volume of goods in Azerbaijan has increased fivefold. The number of China Europe freight trains passing through Azerbaijan in 2024 is 358. Our goal for this year is to increase it to 450 trains, and our mid-term goal is to have 1000 trains per year

Aliyev said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency, "Azerbaijan is an important link in the Trans Caspian International Transport Corridor, and we are vigorously developing transportation infrastructure. China is one of our important strategic partners in the field of transportation, especially in the transportation of China Europe freight trains

On September 9th, container loading and unloading operations were underway at the Baku Apcheren Logistics Center. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Mamadov)

The Trans Caspian Sea International Transport Corridor, also known as the "Middle Corridor", starts from China, passes through Kazakhstan and the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, Georgia, and can extend to Türkiye and European countries. This corridor can significantly shorten the land and sea transportation time between China and Europe.