The Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor (TCTC) Capacity Development Programme will be of key support to the Middle Corridor and its development into a broader network. The next step is implementing clearly defined country-specific and regional activities, Emrecan Erdogan, Expertise France Technical Advisor for the TCTC programme told RailFreight.com.
Volumes on the Middle Corridor have grown in recent years, but a few obstacles remain. A sustained and significant increase depends on addressing key operational bottlenecks, particularly at ports, border crossings and across the Caspian. “If current efforts on coordination, tariff transparency, and operational efficiency are successfully implemented, we expect a more visible scaling of volumes within the next 2–3 years,” Erdogan added.
EU-funded
The plan is funded by the European Union and Expertise France among others. “We are currently engaging with national counterparts and partners to refine the scope of activities, confirm institutional ownership, and initiate the first technical studies, workshops, and capacity development actions,” Erdogan added.
The programme focuses on strengthening the “soft connectivity” of the Middle Corridor through policy support, institutional capacity building and regional coordination mechanisms. Expertise France aims to address bottlenecks across the corridor by tackling issues such as tariff reform and transparency, transport market liberalisation, PPP regulatory and pipeline development, transport asset management systems, and operational coordination initiatives.
New levels of ambition and opportunity
“Importantly, our approach is based on the broader Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor (TCTC) concept rather than focusing on a single route or alignment,” Erdogan underlined. “In this regard, our objective is to strengthen overall regional connectivity, both between countries and within critical segments such as the Caspian maritime interface, by improving coordination, reducing operational bottlenecks, and enhancing the resilience and efficiency of the wider corridor ecosystem,” Erdogan added.
The programme combines country-specific activities with regional initiatives to promote much-needed interoperability, knowledge sharing, and greater coordination across the corridor. Close collaboration with organisations such as the TITR Association, IFIs, and regional stakeholders is deemed essential to ensure activities remain practical, coordinated and aligned. “In June 2026, in Brussels, the coordination platform will be formally extended to the countries of the Caucasus and Turkiye,” Erdogan added.
The corridor currently handles a mix of containerised goods, bulk commodities and transit cargo between Asia and Europe. That, though, is likely to change. “Looking ahead, we expect increasing volumes of higher-value and time-sensitive goods, as well as energy-related products and critical raw and processed materials. This shift will place greater emphasis on reliability, predictability, and efficient multimodal operations—areas where our work on tariff reform, asset management, and operational coordination will have a direct impact,” Erdogan added.
Challenges remain
Expertise France, like everyone else involved in the Middle Corridor project, is very much aware of the challenges it faces. Its list includes differing tariff structures and regulatory approaches between countries, coordination gaps among transport and logistics actors and inefficiencies at border crossings and multimodal interfaces.
In addition, limited transparency and predictability, particularly across the Caspian, brings in a set of complications such as ferry scheduling, vessel availability, and port operations. This can create delays and reduce the overall reliability of the corridor for international trade flows, Erdogan mentioned.
How to tackle them
As the Middle Corridor involves a multitude of entities with different priorities and levels of capacity, the response is (lots of) coordination and inclusivity. “Our approach is therefore based on continuous stakeholder engagement, regional dialogue, and structured coordination mechanisms,” Erdogan pointed out.
This will build on previous work with local partners on trade and transport facilitation via the regional network of National Trade Facilitation Committees and working groups on transport and transit. It also plans to involve itself with design and technical studies although it is wary of a “one-size-fits-all” model.