Can the Middle Corridor become a reliable alternative for China-Europe rail freight?

Thomas Kowitzki of DHL Global Forwarding discusses how the Russia-Ukraine conflict has affected rail freight routes, why most volumes have continued to move through Russia, and the challenges holding back the Middle Corridor.

He examines bottlenecks across the Caspian Sea, including capacity constraints at Aktau port, vessel waiting times, rail synchronisation in Baku and lengthy customs procedures. He also discusses the potential of a new China-Europe routing through Uzbekistan and what needs to improve for the Middle Corridor to attract more cargo.