On June 30, 2025, Beijing's first trans-Caspian China-Europe train departed from Beijing's Southwest Jingang Logistics Base in Fangshan District. 104 standard containers carrying more than 2,300 tons of auto parts, machinery and equipment, books and other export products worth more than 15 million yuan sailed to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

The train will cover more than 8,000 kilometers in the "rail-sea-rail" multimodal transport mode. After departing from Beijing, the train departs through the Khorgos port in Xinjiang, crosses Kazakhstan to the port of Aktau on the east coast of the Caspian Sea, transfers to a ferry across the Caspian Sea, disembarks at the port of Ariat, and then arrives in Baku by rail. Subsequently, part of the goods will also be distributed to Georgia, Turkey, Serbia and other countries.

"The transit time of the Trans-Caspian China-Europe train is about 15 days, while the original sea freight takes about 50 days." Wang Chuanmeng, general manager of Beijing Fangshan International Inland Port Operation Co., Ltd., the organizer of the train, said that through multimodal transportation by railway and ferry, it can not only shorten the transportation time, but also further expand the overseas market space of enterprises in Beijing and surrounding areas.

Lu Peng, director of the Bureau of Commerce of Fangshan District, Beijing, introduced that the successful opening of the trans-Caspian China-Europe train means that the multi-channel system of the Beijing-China Europe train has been further improved, forming an international transportation layout of "direct land-rail-sea combined transport" between Beijing and Europe.

Fangshan District has opened 9 international freight trains this year, gradually building a logistics network that radiates the Eurasian continent. Lu Peng said that Fangshan will promote the deep integration of logistics construction and local industrial development, and provide low-cost and high-efficiency logistics channels for high-end manufacturing, green energy, new materials and other "Beijing intelligent manufacturing" products.

"The Trans-Caspian Sea route can give full play to the role of the China-Europe Express as a strategic channel and better serve Beijing's export-oriented economic development." Wang Chuanmeng, general manager of Beijing Fangshan International Dry Port Operation Co., Ltd., said that as the southern channel of the China-Europe train, the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor not only shortens the transportation time, effectively improves the anti-risk ability and development resilience of the overseas channel, but also can more widely radiate the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean coast, Central and Eastern European countries and Western European countries, and further expand the overseas market space of Beijing enterprises.

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor (TREC) is a golden multimodal transport corridor integrating rail and sea transport, spanning the Eurasian continent, which not only has a shorter path than traditional maritime routes, but also significantly improves the overall controllability and reliability of transport.(This article is from the official website of Seetao www.seetao.com. Reprinting without permission is strictly prohibited. Please indicate Seetao.com + original link when reprinting) Seetao.com Strategy Column Editor/Sun Fengjuan