In the first 10 months of 2025, 2047 20-foot equivalent containers were transported along the eastern route of the North-South International Transport Corridor (ITC), exceeding the same period last year by 1,6 times. This was announced by Artem Motulev, Head of Sales at Russian Railways Logistics, at the conference “International Transport and Transit Corridors: Interconnection and Development – 2025.”

The eastern railway route of the North-South International Transport Corridor passes through Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran, followed by a maritime component to the ports of unloading. Since the inception of the eastern route, 78 container trains have been organized to date: 49 export trains from Russia, 26 import trains into Russia, and three transit trains, explained a representative of RZD-Logistics.

“Currently, the main destinations for export shipments are South Africa, Kenya, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, India, and the UAE. The main type of exported cargo is paper products, specifically pulp,” Motulev added.

He also reported on a recently completed project – the arrival of a full container train of 62 40-foot containers of cellulose from Syktyvkar (Russia) to the dry port of Aprin (Iran).

According to a representative of RZD Logistics, traffic volumes along the corridor are showing steady growth. In 2022, 366 20-foot equivalent containers were transported, in 2023 – 1098 containers (a threefold increase), and in 2024 – 1872 containers (a 1,7-fold increase).