Faster Border Crossings
Following the modernization of road border checkpoints, their combined capacity increased from approximately 2 million to 5 million vehicles per year. According to the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the average border crossing time for freight vehicles at modernized checkpoints decreased from 9 hours to approximately 30 minutes.
The actual crossing time for an individual vehicle still depends on the checkpoint, the accuracy of the documentation, the type of cargo and the current traffic load.
Fewer Paper-Based Procedures
The Digital Trade Corridor platform has been introduced along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, integrating the railway systems of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia through a single-window approach.
The Tez Customs module enables paperless customs transit processing. According to the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, customs processing time within this process has been reduced from 8 hours to 30 minutes.
Digitalization reduces the number of separate manual procedures and facilitates information exchange between participants in the transport chain.
The Growing Role of the Middle Corridor
According to the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan, freight volumes along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route increased by 22% during the first eight months of 2026 compared with the same period of the previous year.
East–West transit traffic increased by 55% during the same period.
The development of the Middle Corridor expands transportation opportunities between Asia and Europe and provides additional options for building international routes. However, the optimal routing solution still needs to be calculated individually for each shipment.
What This Means for Shippers
For shippers, the key question remains practical: which route is most suitable for a particular cargo and which conditions should be considered in advance?
When planning an international shipment, it is important to consider the type and characteristics of the goods, documentation requirements, the selected border crossing, the mode of transport, transshipment points and possible changes along the route.
Infrastructure development and digital services can make transportation faster and more transparent, but a reliable delivery plan still requires advance calculation of the route and conditions for each specific shipment.