Container traffic on the China – Iran route grew by 2.6 times in the first months of 2025. Such strong demand for rail services seems promising for the future. Consequently, six countries decided to come together and agree on steps to develop the route.
And so Kazakhstan, Iran, China, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Türkiye all sent representatives to a meeting in Tehran on 12 May to discuss the issue. The six parties not only focused on China – Iran traffic, but also the extended route to Europe through Türkiye.
“The event became an important step in the development of multilateral cooperation to form an effective transport corridor China – Kazakhstan – Uzbekistan – Turkmenistan – Iran – Türkiye – Europe”, Kazakh Railways (KTZ) says. “A clear confirmation of the demand for this route was the increase in container traffic on the China – Iran route via Kazakhstan by 2.6 times in January – April 2025 compared to the same period last year.”
Competitive tariff conditions
The countries signed an agreement on “joint actions to intensify container traffic on this route”, says KTZ. “The parties confirmed their readiness to provide comprehensive support for the promotion of the corridor in the international transportation market.”
Tangible agreements entail an approval of competitive tariff conditions and key parameters to organise train traffic. That includes maintaining the “approved total delivery time along the entire route”, KTZ specifies.
China – Iran – Europe
Kazakhstan and China are already involved in sending rail freight to Europe through Iran. In early March, KTZ and China Railway launched a container train with television components to Europe. Rather than taking the more conventional route through Russia and Belarus, the two companies opted to go through Iran instead. That also meant that the train would take a longer time than usual: the expected travel time was 52 to 60 days. As of November 2024, Middle Corridor transit times were approximately 30 days.