Ceremony in Baku

ASIA: A ceremony in Baku on November 24 marked the departure of what Kazakh national railway KTZ said is the first container train to run eastbound between Azerbaijan and China on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.

The ferry and rail service from Baku to Xi’an via Kazakhstan is carrying 62 containers of petroleum coke and is scheduled to take 12 days.

It was organised by KTZ Express in partnership with X’ian Free Trade Port, Absheron Logistics and ADY Express. KTZ said the TITR ’not only reduces transportation times, but also ensures reliability and safety’.

Similar cargo was previously delivered by road to the Turkish Black Sea port of Trabzon and then by sea to China, taking more than 40 days.