Azerbaijan Railways: Eastbound is the next chapter for 2026

Looking into 2026, the key challenge is no longer westbound scalability - it is the development of efficient, predictable eastbound delivery, said Emil Mammadov, an advisor to Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) chairman, highlighting "Eastbound is the next chapter for 2026," Report informs.

"Over the past several years, working within Azerbaijan Railways, we have moved the Middle Corridor from concept to operational reality. Westbound flows are growing year by year - supported by concrete steps already taken: coordination through Middle Corridor Multimodal JV (MCM), capacity expansion on the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars (BTK) railway, additional rolling stock, new container vessels for the Caspian Sea, and ongoing port upgrades," Mammadov wrote on social network.

This is where European partners become decisive, he noted. "Continuous engagement through fairs, international visits, and working-level dialogue with companies such as HHLA, Rhenus Logistics, DB Cargo, MSC, Rail Cargo and others already show strong interest in this direction," Mammadov said.

According to him, 2026 is the year to turn this interest into real eastbound volume. "From alignment to execution and from corridor to two-way demand."

Cargo transportation along the Trans-Caspian route is expected to reach 5.2 million tons in 2025. Of this volume, 4.2 million tons will pass through the territories of the countries participating in the route.

According to the forecast, 2.5 million tons of the total cargo will consist of dry goods, equivalent to 96,000 TEU, while 1.7 million tons will account for oil shipments.

By 2027, the annual carrying capacity of the Middle Corridor is projected to reach 10 million tons. This is expected to further strengthen Azerbaijan's transit potential and create favorable conditions for attracting new investments into infrastructure.

By 2030, cargo transportation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route is forecast to reach 11.4 million tons.