The Middle Corridor, formally branded the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), is the multimodal alternative to the Iran-transit overland route. It combines sea, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway, a Caspian Sea ferry crossing, and Kazakh-to-Uzbek rail. End-to-end Alexandria → Tashkent in 18–25 days.
The route in one sentence
Alexandria (EGALY) → Mersin (TRMER) by sea, then Mersin → Kars → BTK railway → Baku/Alyat port → Caspian ferry to Aktau or Kuryk → Kazakh rail → Tashkent.
The legs
Sea — Alexandria → Mersin
- 2–4 days on East-Med reefer feeder rotations
- Same sea leg as the the Mersin TIR route route
Land — Mersin → Kars
- Road or domestic Turkish rail to Kars, the Turkish terminus of the BTK railway
- ~1,300 km, 2–3 days
Rail — BTK (Baku-Tbilisi-Kars) railway
The BTK railway opened for cargo on 30 October 2017 and runs 826 km from Kars (Turkey) through Tbilisi (Georgia) to Baku (Azerbaijan). Initial capacity 5–6.5 Mt/year, scaling to 17 Mt/year by 2034.
- Kars → Baku/Alyat port: 3–5 days
Sea — Caspian ferry
- Baku/Alyat → Aktau or Kuryk (Kazakhstan)
- Crossing time: 18–24 hours at sea
- Schedule note: Caspian sailings are based on cargo accumulation, not fixed timetables. Practical waiting time at Baku: 1–7 days depending on cargo flow
Rail — Aktau / Kuryk → Tashkent
- Kazakh rail across the Mangistau and Aral land bridges → Arys → Chukursay (Tashkent)
- 6–9 days
Total door-to-door
Alexandria → Tashkent: 18–25 days.
The 18-day low-end assumes a fast Caspian ferry slot. The high-end accounts for typical ferry waiting time, which is the known weak link in the Egypt-to-Uzbekistan trade.
What it suits
- Ambient and shelf-tolerant FCL — dates, garlic, onions, potatoes, late-season pomegranate, processed product
- Buyers preferring this route over the Iran-transit alternative for political-stability or bilateral-trade reasons
- Cargo that doesn't require absolutely time-critical reefer reliability across the Caspian leg
What it doesn't suit (today)
- Tightly-windowed reefer programmes — Caspian ferry reefer-plug capacity is limited and ferry waits add unpredictability
- Strawberry, soft fruit, mango — these need air or the Iran-TIR trade when it's running
Common questions
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Why is the Caspian ferry the weak link? Sailings run on cargo accumulation rather than fixed schedules, and ferry capacity (especially reefer-plug capacity) is constrained relative to demand. Waiting times of 1–7 days at Baku are typical.
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Is this route fully reefer-capable? The sea, BTK rail and Kazakh rail legs are reefer-capable. The Caspian ferry leg has limited reefer-plug capacity, so we book reefer slots in advance and time pack-out to match a known sailing window.
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What documentation is required? Phytosanitary certificate from Egyptian CAPQ, Certificate of Origin, ACID number via Nafeza, Bill of Lading, plus transit documents for Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
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Why has the Middle Corridor become more relevant since 2024? The 2024 Middle Corridor Coordination Platform formalised cross-government commitment, BTK capacity is being raised to 17 Mt/year by 2034, and the disruption of the Iran-transit route in 2025–26 has pushed cargo onto this lane. Trade press reports increased volumes on TITR throughout 2025.
For a CIF Tashkent quote on this route, send an RFQ — indicative pricing within 48 working hours.