The container carrier major, previously offering rail services over the northern part of the New Silk Road, has connected China and the EU via Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

The service routes cargoes from China for dispatching via Khorgos towards Aktau.

The load is transshipped in the Kazakh port onto a barge heading for Baku, where it is again trans-loaded on a train making its way for APM Terminals Poti.

From Georgia, a feeder takes the containers to the Romanian Port of Constanța. The shipments are then handed over for final delivery into the EU's hinterland.

The China-EU transit time is about 40 days.

Maersk's first Middle Corridor train set was dispatched in April 2022.

"The [Middle] Corridor has sufficient open capacity, allowing our customers to strengthen their supply chain resilience, by having alternative route to ocean and air services," Maia Parlagashvili, Maersk's Global Product Manager - Intercontinental Rail, said.

Photo: Maersk