Azerbaijan Railways Working To Attract Return Cargo Flows For Middle Corridor

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 8. Azerbaijan Railways CJSC (ADY) is working to attract return cargo flows to ensure the further development of the Middle Corridor, ADY Chairman's Adviser Emil Mammadov said, Trend 's correspondent reports from the event.

He made the remarks during the 5th International Freight Transport Forum in the Black Sea and Caspian Regions - 2026, held in Baku.

He said that the issue of return cargo is of interest not only to ADY but also to other participants of the Middle Corridor, as it is essential for ensuring the corridor's long-term development. “Over the past several years, we have mainly focused on attracting cargo originating from China and Central Asia. We have worked to bring these cargo flows to the Middle Corridor. Alongside the development of freight routes, large-scale infrastructure projects have been implemented at ports and railway networks along the Middle Corridor, including in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia. At the same time, various measures are being carried out to improve the predictability of the corridor's operations, so that shippers clearly understand transportation conditions and delivery timelines for their cargo,” Mammadov said.

According to the ADY official, efforts to attract return cargo represent the next stage in the development of the Middle Corridor. “The corridor itself cannot develop in a chaotic or fragmented manner. We are working to ensure its systematic development. This requires return cargo flows. They will allow us to increase the volume of goods transported via the Middle Corridor and optimize transportation costs by enabling the return of a certain number of containers to their countries of origin,” he said.

Mammadov noted that the current imbalance in cargo flows is not an ideal model, as it also depends on the economic development of countries exporting and receiving goods.“Today, we are dealing with China, which accounts for and supplies a significant share of global trade volumes and exports from its territory. This trend is observed not only on our route but worldwide. Therefore, cargo flows are mainly moving from East to West,” he said.

He added that ADY is also working to attract cargo flows from West to East.“We are also focusing on activities in the European market, because until now the Middle Corridor has been promoted mainly among the corridor's participants. Events were held in China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and, in the best case, Türkiye, but there was limited outreach to the European market with the Middle Corridor agenda. ADY has begun active cooperation with European partners to establish systematic efforts aimed at attracting cargo flows to the Middle Corridor from West to East. We believe that concepts promoted together with European partners will receive greater trust and predictability on the European continent,” Mammadov said.

According to him, ADY is working to establish mutually beneficial cooperation with European partners to attract additional cargo flows to the Middle Corridor. Mammadov also noted that the issue of which categories of goods can be attracted to the route requires separate consideration.

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