The multimodal shipment was organised by KTZ Express and involved both rail and sea segments.
Route and cargo details
The train, assembled at the Zhongding logistics hub in Jinzhong, comprised 50 standard containers loaded with solar panel components weighing more than 1,150 tonnes. The shipment travelled westward through Kazakhstan to the Port of Aktau on the Caspian Sea. From there, the containers were transferred to a maritime connection bound for Azerbaijan.
The use of the TITR allows for a land-sea corridor linking Northern China to the South Caucasus region. The combined railway and ferry transport avoids routes through Russia and passes through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, and into Azerbaijan.
TITR and Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan’s state-owned operator KTZ Express continues to handle multimodal shipments on this corridor. According to the company, the transport solution provides connections from China to the CIS region, the Caucasus, Türkiye, and Europe. The TITR has been used more frequently over the past two years as logistics firms seek alternative paths for cargo flows between Asia and Europe.
The photovoltaic modules are destined for the Azerbaijani market, though no further distribution or final delivery location has been specified. While transit times and frequency were not disclosed, the shipment confirms active usage of the TITR route for containerised equipment originating in China’s interior provinces.
Photovoltaic by containers
The total weight of over 1,150 tonnes was transported in a single block train configuration, with a typical 20-foot container averaging 23 tonnes. No official information was provided regarding the estimated shipment value, but based on the market price of photovoltaic modules, the consignment could be valued around CNY 17 million, which equals approximately EUR 2.1 million.
This shipment is one of several that illustrate the increasing reliance on multimodal transport chains linking Asia with markets in the Caucasus and beyond through TITR. KTZ Express is one of the operators offering such routes with ongoing rail-to-sea transfer capabilities.
