Beijing launches first China-Europe freight train to cross Caspian Sea

Huaxia
Xinhua
Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:33 UTC

© Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin

A China-Europe freight train waits for departure at Beijing International Land Port in Fangshan District of Beijing, capital of China, June 30, 2025. A new China-Europe freight train route linking Beijing to Baku of Azerbaijan was launched Monday. Riding on the "rail-sea-rail" multimodal transport, the payload is scheduled to get across the Caspian Sea by ship, and arrive in Baku in 15 days.

BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhua) -- A China-Europe freight train departed from Beijing on Monday, marking the launch of the capital's first cross-Caspian Sea multimodal freight service.

The train, loaded with 104 TEUs carrying over 2,300 tonnes of export goods such as auto parts, machinery and books, is bound for Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The route employs rail-sea-rail multimodal transport, covering more than 8,000 kilometers and cutting transit times from about 50 days to approximately 15.

Departing from Fangshan District, Beijing's southwestern gateway, the train exits China via Horgos Port in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, travels through Kazakhstan, crosses the Caspian Sea by ferry, and continues by rail to Baku. Some of the cargo will then be distributed to Georgia, Türkiye, Serbia and beyond.

According to Lu Peng, director of the Fangshan District bureau of commerce, the launch of the route marks a significant step in expanding the diversified corridors of China-Europe freight services originating from Beijing. It will help shape a comprehensive international logistics network combining direct overland routes and rail-sea intermodal transport.

Comment: Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan, a country which borders Iran to the South and Armenia and Turkey to the west, Georgia to the northwest, Dagestan, republic of the Russian Federation to the north, and the Caspian sea to the East. Stability in this region is not a given, but probably enough make the operation of the line profitable.

The line appears to be related to the Belt and Road Initiative, but in one of the maps the train goes through Iran. The difficulties Iran has been facing from western pressure both politically, commercially, and militarily may be one reason for the choice to use a ferry over the Caspian See, rather than going though Iran by train.